Key Facts

Overview

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

Mineura orbits the sun every 1,560 days (4.27 years), coming as close as 2.15 AU and reaching as far as 3.10 AU from the sun. Mineura is about 17.2 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Philadelphia.

The rotation of Mineura has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 930.00 hours.

Mineura's spectral type None (Tholen) / S (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain and .

No Close Approaches

Mineura's orbit is 1.18 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

Mineura's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 1, 1937. It was last officially observed on Feb. 2, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 4,193 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 Mineura:

References

Search

   or view a random object

Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.627 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1814
  • Inclination: 12.54°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 181.6°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 100.23°
  • Mean Anomaly: 127.61°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 17.19000 km
  • Magnitude: 11.37
  • Albedo: 0.1502
  • Spectral type (SMASS): S

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,560 days (4.27 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 18.32 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.10 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.15 AU
  • Rotation Period: 930.00 hours
  • Approx. Composition: and .

Map Comparison

Click to load map

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Mineura 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.