Key Facts

Overview

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

Nyctimene orbits the sun every 967 days (2.65 years), coming as close as 1.80 AU and reaching as far as 2.02 AU from the sun. Nyctimene is about 6.1 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

The rotation of Nyctimene has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 6.13 hours.

No Close Approaches

Nyctimene's orbit is 0.84 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

Nyctimene's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 6, 1969. It was last officially observed on May 3, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 4,136 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 Nyctimene:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.913 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.057
  • Inclination: 25.33°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 201.0°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 235.67°
  • Mean Anomaly: 85.87°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 6.05900 km
  • Magnitude: 13.27
  • Albedo: 0.220

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 967 days (2.65 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 21.52 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.02 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.80 AU
  • Rotation Period: 6.13 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Nyctimene 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 Nyctimene 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.