Key Facts

Overview

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

Hungaria orbits the sun every 991 days (2.71 years), coming as close as 1.80 AU and reaching as far as 2.09 AU from the sun. Hungaria is about 8.9 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

The rotation of Hungaria has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 26.52 hours.

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

No Close Approaches

Hungaria's orbit is 0.83 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

Hungaria's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 11, 1898. It was last officially observed on July 4, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 8,839 observations used to determine its orbit.

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

View asteroid Hungaria 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 Hungaria:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.945 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.0736
  • Inclination: 22.51°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 175.3°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 124.22°
  • Mean Anomaly: 85.96°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 8.93400 km
  • Magnitude: 11.27
  • Albedo: 0.726
  • Spectral type (Tholen): E
  • Spectral type (SMASS): Xe

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 991 days (2.71 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 21.35 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.09 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.80 AU
  • Rotation Period: 26.52 hours
  • Approx. Composition: iron, nickel, and cobalt.

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Hungaria 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.