Asteroid
2016 HO passed by the Earth at a distance of 808 600 km (2.10 times
the average distance between the Earth and the Moon, or 0.54% of
the average distance between the Earth and the Sun), slightly before 12.30 pm GMT on Sunday 24 April 2016. There was no
danger
of the asteroid
hitting us, though had it done so it would have presented no
threat. 2016 HO has an estimated equivalent diameter of 14-45 m (i.e.
it is estimated that a spherical object with the same volume would be
14-45 m in diameter), and an object of this size would be expected to
explode in an airburst (an explosion caused by superheating from
friction with the Earth's atmosphere, which is greater than that caused
by simply falling, due to the orbital momentum of the asteroid) in the
atmosphere between 28 and 10 km above the ground, with only fragmentary
material reaching the Earth's surface.
The calculated orbit of 2016 HO. JPL Small Body Database.
2016 HO was discovered on 24 April 2016 (the day of its closest approach to the Earth) by the Southern Observatory for Near Earth Asteroids Research (SONEAR) at Oliviera in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The
designation 2016 HO implies that it was the 14th asteroid (asteroid O)
discovered in the second half of April 2016 (period 2016 H).
2016 HO has a 673 day orbital period and an eccentric orbit tilted at an angle of 1.56° to the plane of the Solar System that takes it from 1.01 AU from the Sun (i.e. 101 % of the average distance at which the Earth orbits the Sun) to 2.00 AU from the Sun (i.e. twice the average distance at which the Earth orbits the Sun, considerably outside the orbit of the planet Mars). It is therefore classed as an Amor Group Asteroid (an asteroid which comes close to the Earth, but which is always outside the Earth's orbit). This means that close encounters between the asteroid and Earth are fairly common, with the most recent having occurred in June 2005 next predicted in June 2027. 2016 HO also has occasional close encounters with the planet Mars, with the last such encounter calculated to have occured in October 1962 and the next predicted for April 2024.
See also...
Asteroid 2016 GP221 passes the Earth. Asteroid
2016 GP221 passed by the Earth at a distance of 592 000 km (1.54 times
the average distance between the Earth and the Moon, or 0.40% of
the average distance between the Earth and the Sun), slightly after 6.20
am GMT on Monday 18 April...
Asteroid 2016 GO134 passes the Earth. Asteroid
2016 GO134 passed by the Earth at a distance of 332 000 km (0.86 times
the average distance between the Earth and the Moon, or 0.22% of
the average distance between the Earth and the Sun), slightly before
7.35 pm GMT on Friday 6 April...
Lyrid Meteors to be visible next week. The Lyrid Meteors will be visible between Saturday 16 and Monday 25
April 2006, with peak acticity on Friday 22 April, when the number of
meteors may exceed 20 per hour. However with the...
2016 HO has a 673 day orbital period and an eccentric orbit tilted at an angle of 1.56° to the plane of the Solar System that takes it from 1.01 AU from the Sun (i.e. 101 % of the average distance at which the Earth orbits the Sun) to 2.00 AU from the Sun (i.e. twice the average distance at which the Earth orbits the Sun, considerably outside the orbit of the planet Mars). It is therefore classed as an Amor Group Asteroid (an asteroid which comes close to the Earth, but which is always outside the Earth's orbit). This means that close encounters between the asteroid and Earth are fairly common, with the most recent having occurred in June 2005 next predicted in June 2027. 2016 HO also has occasional close encounters with the planet Mars, with the last such encounter calculated to have occured in October 1962 and the next predicted for April 2024.
See also...
Asteroid 2016 GP221 passes the Earth. Asteroid
2016 GP221 passed by the Earth at a distance of 592 000 km (1.54 times
the average distance between the Earth and the Moon, or 0.40% of
the average distance between the Earth and the Sun), slightly after 6.20
am GMT on Monday 18 April...Asteroid 2016 GO134 passes the Earth. Asteroid
2016 GO134 passed by the Earth at a distance of 332 000 km (0.86 times
the average distance between the Earth and the Moon, or 0.22% of
the average distance between the Earth and the Sun), slightly before
7.35 pm GMT on Friday 6 April...Lyrid Meteors to be visible next week. The Lyrid Meteors will be visible between Saturday 16 and Monday 25
April 2006, with peak acticity on Friday 22 April, when the number of
meteors may exceed 20 per hour. However with the...
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