Belenus is a small asteroid whose orbit approaches the orbit of Earth but does not cross it. NASA JPL has classified Belenus as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.
Belenus orbits the sun every 838 days (2.29 years), coming as close as 1.15 AU and reaching as far as 2.33 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, Belenus is probably between 0.592 to 1.324 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.
The rotation of Belenus has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 5.43 hours.
Belenus's orbit is 0.17 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.
Belenus has 2 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:
Date | Distance from Earth (km) | Velocity (km/s) |
---|---|---|
Jan. 26, 2052 | 25,351,988 | 2.120 |
Jan. 26, 2153 | 25,364,150 | 2.099 |
Belenus's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 9, 1950. It was last officially observed on March 23, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 752 observations used to determine its orbit.
The position of Belenus 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.
The above comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of Belenus 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.