Key Facts

Overview

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

Sequoia orbits the sun every 982 days (2.69 years), coming as close as 1.75 AU and reaching as far as 2.12 AU from the sun. Sequoia is about 6.7 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

The rotation of Sequoia has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 3.04 hours.

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

No Close Approaches

Sequoia's orbit is 0.81 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

Sequoia's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 30, 1928. It was last officially observed on April 1, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,510 observations used to determine its orbit.

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

View asteroid Sequoia 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 Sequoia:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.933 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.0946
  • Inclination: 17.9°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 267.61°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 77.77°
  • Mean Anomaly: 153.55°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 6.69200 km
  • Magnitude: 12.07
  • Albedo: 0.384
  • Spectral type (Tholen): E
  • Spectral type (SMASS): Xk

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 982 days (2.69 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 21.41 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.12 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.75 AU
  • Rotation Period: 3.04 hours
  • Approx. Composition: iron, nickel, and cobalt.

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Sequoia 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 Sequoia 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.