Tsukuyomi

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay (9.80 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

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

Tsukuyomi orbits the sun every 1,880 days (5.15 years), coming as close as 2.82 AU and reaching as far as 3.15 AU from the sun. Tsukuyomi is about 9.8 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

The rotation of Tsukuyomi has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 4.12 hours.

No Close Approaches

Tsukuyomi's orbit is 1.86 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.

Images and Observations

Tsukuyomi's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 7, 1977. It was last officially observed on Jan. 22, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,822 observations used to determine its orbit.

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

View asteroid Tsukuyomi 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 Tsukuyomi:

• 61 Danae (A860 RC)
• 117 Lomia (A871 RB)
• 150 Nuwa (A875 UA)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Tsukuyomi 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.