Key Facts

Overview

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

Cumming orbits the sun every 1,540 days (4.22 years), coming as close as 2.50 AU and reaching as far as 2.73 AU from the sun. Cumming is about 6.3 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

No Close Approaches

Cumming's orbit is 1.51 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

Cumming's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 18, 1985. It was last officially observed on Sept. 22, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,088 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 Cumming:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.614 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.045
  • Inclination: 22.68°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 31.65°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 333.14°
  • Mean Anomaly: 9.35°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 6.28300 km
  • Magnitude: 13.36
  • Albedo: 0.339

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,540 days (4.22 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 18.47 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.73 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.50 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Cumming 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 Cumming 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.