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 orbiting between Mars and Jupiter within the inner portion of the asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified Einstein as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

Einstein orbits the sun every 982 days (2.69 years), coming as close as 1.74 AU and reaching as far as 2.12 AU from the sun. Einstein is about 4.0 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the island of Manhattan.

The rotation of Einstein has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 5.49 hours.

Einstein's spectral type X (Tholen) / Xe (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain iron, nickel, and cobalt.

No Close Approaches

Einstein's orbit is 0.77 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a very wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

Orbital simulations conducted by NASA JPL's CNEOS do not show any close approaches to Earth.

Images and Observations

Einstein's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 5, 1973. It was last officially observed on Feb. 3, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,441 observations used to determine its orbit.

Scientists have been able to determine this object's shape:

View asteroid Einstein in 3D.

Accessibility and Exploration

This asteroid is not considered a viable target for human exploration by the NHATS study.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of Einstein:

• 1103 Sequoia (1928 VB)
• 1750 Eckert (1950 NA1)
• 1919 Clemence (1971 SA)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Einstein is indicated by a ◯ pink circle. Note that the object may not be in your current field of view. Use the controls below to adjust position, location, and time.

Size Rendering

The above comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of Einstein to create an approximate landscape rendering with Mount Everest in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.