6382 (1988 EL)

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Inner Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay (4.93 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

6382 (1988 EL) is a mid-sized asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter within the inner portion of the asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified 1988 EL as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

1988 EL orbits the sun every 900 days (2.46 years), coming as close as 1.74 AU and reaching as far as 1.91 AU from the sun. 1988 EL is about 4.9 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

The rotation of 1988 EL has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 2.90 hours.

No Close Approaches

1988 EL's orbit is 0.74 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

1988 EL's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 14, 1988. It was last officially observed on July 5, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 4,554 observations used to determine its orbit.

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 1988 EL:

• 3309 Brorfelde (1982 BH)
• 4055 Magellan (1985 DO2)
• 4341 Poseidon (1987 KF)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 6382 (1988 EL) 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 1988 EL 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.