Ochoa

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the U.S. Pentagon
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

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

Ochoa orbits the sun every 1,750 days (4.79 years), coming as close as 2.76 AU and reaching as far as 2.93 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, Ochoa is probably between 1.176 to 2.631 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the U.S. Pentagon.

No Close Approaches

Ochoa's orbit is 1.77 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

Ochoa's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 18, 1998. It was last officially observed on Nov. 27, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 241 observations used to determine its orbit.

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 Ochoa:

• 81 Terpsichore (A864 SA)
• 167 Urda (A876 QA)
• 385 Ilmatar (A894 EA)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Ochoa 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 Ochoa 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.