Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

Eros

Add to an observing list or journal →

433 Eros (A898 PA)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.708 AU
True anomaly
147.73°
Distance from Earth
2.215 AU
As of
11 October 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth Eros — 1.708 AU from the Sun Eros
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Eros is 2.215 AU from Earth today (18.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
16h 13m 38s
Declination
-25° 47′ 36″
Constellation
Scorpius
Distance from Earth
2.22 AU
Elongation from the Sun
47.28° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it is up after civil twilight, and when it rises and sets where you are.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.

Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
1.458 AU
Eccentricity
0.2229
Inclination
10.83°
Orbital period
643.2 days
Perihelion
1.133 AU
Aphelion
1.783 AU
Longitude of ascending node
304.27°
Argument of periapsis
178.92°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · AMO
Amor
Earth MOID · 57.9 LD
0.1488 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
4.582

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
9,130
Data arc
127.5 years
First observed
29 October 1893
Last observed
13 May 2021
Residual RMS
0.3 ″
Solution · Giorgini
24 May 2021

Physical properties

Mean radius
8.42 km
Density
2.67 g/cm³
Rotation period
5.27 hours
GM
0 km³/s²
Shape · km
34.4x11.2x11.2

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.25
Absolute magnitude (H)
10.4
Colour index (B–V)
0.92
Spectral type (SMASS)
S
Spectral type (Tholen)
S
Colour index (U–B)
0.53

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Witt, G.
Discovery date
13 August 1898
Discovery site
Berlin

Also known as 433 · 1898 DQ · A898 PA · 1956 PC

Amor Near-Earth Object Named

Close approaches 34 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of Eros at 2042-04-06 19:02 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2042-04-06 19:02 UTC close approach of Eros. Catalogue miss distance 173.6 LD · 6.67 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2042-04-03 to 2042-04-09, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. At closest approach the object is south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 173.6 LD · 6.67 × 10⁷ km 2042-04-06 19:02 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2042-04-06 19:02 UTC close approach of Eros. Catalogue miss distance 173.6 LD · 6.67 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2042-04-03 to 2042-04-09, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. At closest approach the object is south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2042-04-06 19:02:00 Earth 0.4461 AU 173.6 LD 3.7 km/s
2049-02-12 05:38:00 Earth 0.2726 AU 106.1 LD 6.1 km/s
2056-01-24 11:03:00 Earth 0.1498 AU 58.3 LD 5.8 km/s
2062-12-31 08:25:00 Earth 0.303 AU 117.9 LD 5.7 km/s
2069-11-08 21:29:00 Earth 0.4647 AU 180.9 LD 4.2 km/s
2086-03-11 22:55:00 Earth 0.3713 AU 144.5 LD 4.2 km/s
2093-01-31 15:47:00 Earth 0.1825 AU 71.0 LD 6 km/s
2100-01-16 11:39:00 Earth 0.2039 AU 79.3 LD 6 km/s
2106-12-04 02:22:00 Earth 0.3923 AU 152.7 LD 3.9 km/s
2123-04-10 05:51:00 Earth 0.4497 AU 175.0 LD 3.8 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources