Howell

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Outer Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay (8.84 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

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

Howell orbits the sun every 2,120 days (5.80 years), coming as close as 2.99 AU and reaching as far as 3.47 AU from the sun. Howell is about 8.8 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

The rotation of Howell has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 10.86 hours.

No Close Approaches

Howell's orbit is 1.98 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

Howell's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 2, 1996. It was last officially observed on June 10, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 1,473 observations used to determine its orbit.

Scientists have been able to determine this object's shape:

View asteroid Howell in 3D.

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 Howell:

• 108 Hecuba (A869 GB)
• 122 Gerda (A872 OA)
• 381 Myrrha (A894 AC)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Howell 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.