Dolby

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Mars-crossing Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the island of Manhattan
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

Dolby is a mid-sized asteroid with an orbit that crosses the orbit of Mars. NASA JPL has not classified Dolby as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

Dolby orbits the sun every 1,340 days (3.67 years), coming as close as 1.66 AU and reaching as far as 3.09 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, Dolby is probably between 2.809 to 6.281 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the island of Manhattan.

No Close Approaches

Dolby's orbit is 0.66 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

Dolby's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 18, 1966. It was last officially observed on April 16, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,319 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 Dolby:

• 30 Urania (A854 OA)
• 51 Nemausa (A858 BA)
• 105 Artemis (A868 SA)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Dolby 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 Dolby 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.