Einstein

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Inner Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the island of Manhattan (3.98 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

Einstein is a mid-sized asteroid circling the sun between Mars and Jupiter, inside the main asteroid belt. NASA JPL does not treat Einstein as potentially hazardous, because its orbit never carries it near Earth.

One lap around the sun takes Einstein 982 days (2.69 years). Over that circuit it swings between 1.74 AU and 2.12 AU from the sun, travelling at an average of 21.41 km/s. At 4.0 kilometers across, Einstein is bigger than 99% of known asteroids — roughly the size of the island of Manhattan.

Einstein has been watched long enough to time its spin: one full turn on its axis takes 5.49 hours.

Its spectral type — X on the Tholen scale, Xe on SMASSII — suggests Einstein holds iron, nickel, and cobalt.

No Close Approaches

At their nearest, the orbits of Einstein and Earth stay 0.77 AU apart. That is a comfortable margin, and it holds at every point in the orbit.

Orbital simulations run by NASA JPL's CNEOS turn up no close approaches to Earth.

Images and Observations

The orbit of Einstein is pinned down by sightings going back to March 5, 1973, the most recent officially logged on Feb. 3, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center holds 3,441 observations behind that solution.

Accessibility and Exploration

The NHATS study does not rate Einstein as a realistic destination for a crewed mission.

Similar Objects

These objects follow orbits with much the same shape and tilt as Einstein:

• 18 Melpomene (A852 MA)
• 6 Hebe (A847 NA)
• Small Apollo-class Asteroid

References

• JPL Small Body Database
• Mission Design
• Sky Finder Chart

Size Rendering

An artistic impression, scaling Einstein against the New York skyline from its measured diameter. The shape, colour and texture of the asteroid are invented; only the size is real. Built for full-size desktop browsers.

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

A ◯ pink circle marks where Einstein sits. It may fall outside your current field of view — use the controls below to change the position, location and time.