Key Facts

Overview

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

van Houten orbits the sun every 1,990 days (5.45 years), coming as close as 2.53 AU and reaching as far as 3.66 AU from the sun. van Houten is about 20.7 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Indianapolis.

No Close Approaches

van Houten's orbit is 1.54 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

van Houten's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 11, 1937. It was last officially observed on July 5, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,667 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 van Houten:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 3.098 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1829
  • Inclination: 3.59°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 208.01°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 209.16°
  • Mean Anomaly: 239.01°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 20.73300 km
  • Magnitude: 12.22
  • Albedo: 0.088

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,990 days (5.45 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 16.94 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.66 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.53 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of van Houten 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.