Beiyou is a mid-sized asteroid that orbits between Mars and Jupiter in the outer reaches of the main asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified Beiyou as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.
Beiyou orbits the sun every 2,120 days (5.80 years), coming as close as 2.71 AU and reaching as far as 3.75 AU from the sun. Beiyou is about 8.0 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.
The rotation of Beiyou has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 4.44 hours.
Beiyou's orbit is 1.78 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is an extremely 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.
Beiyou's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 9, 1992. It was last officially observed on June 13, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 1,292 observations used to determine its orbit.
The position of Beiyou 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.