Key Facts
- Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
- Comparable in size to the island of Manhattan (3.40 km diameter)
- Will pass within 19,906,214 km of Earth in 2024
- Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
- Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
- See orbit simulation
Overview
Toro is a mid-sized asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified Toro as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.
Toro orbits the sun every 584 days (1.60 years), coming as close as 0.77 AU and reaching as far as 1.96 AU from the sun. Toro is about 3.4 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the island of Manhattan.
The rotation of Toro has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 10.20 hours.
Toro's spectral type S (Tholen) / S (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain and .
Close Approaches
Toro's orbit is 0.05 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.
Toro has 17 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:
| Date | Distance from Earth (km) | Velocity (km/s) |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 20, 2024 | 19,906,214 | 16.174 |
| Jan. 20, 2032 | 19,269,313 | 16.034 |
| Jan. 21, 2040 | 20,697,834 | 16.331 |
| Jan. 23, 2048 | 24,736,737 | 17.158 |
| Aug. 5, 2076 | 28,397,150 | 16.501 |
| Aug. 6, 2084 | 25,902,779 | 15.825 |
| Aug. 6, 2092 | 25,307,761 | 15.646 |
| Aug. 7, 2100 | 26,363,535 | 15.951 |
| Aug. 6, 2108 | 29,579,087 | 16.770 |
| Jan. 25, 2128 | 26,406,168 | 17.422 |
| Jan. 22, 2136 | 18,825,530 | 15.864 |
| Jan. 19, 2144 | 13,509,907 | 14.689 |
| Jan. 18, 2152 | 11,073,577 | 14.074 |
| Jan. 18, 2160 | 11,280,207 | 14.132 |
| Jan. 20, 2168 | 14,556,897 | 14.922 |
| Jan. 23, 2176 | 20,003,613 | 16.100 |
| Jan. 26, 2184 | 26,416,561 | 17.424 |
Images and Observations
Toro's orbit is determined by observations dating back to July 17, 1948. It was last officially observed on Aug. 7, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 4,431 observations used to determine its orbit.
Scientists have been able to determine this object's shape:
View asteroid Toro 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 Toro:References
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or view a random objectOrbital Elements
- Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
- Semi-major axis: 1.368 AU
- Eccentricity: 0.4361
- Inclination: 9.38°
- Longitude of Ascending Node: 274.22°
- Argument of Periapsis: 127.24°
- Mean Anomaly: 309.83°
Physical Characteristics
- Diameter: 3.40000 km
- Magnitude: 14.33
- Albedo: 0.31
- Spectral type (Tholen): S
- Spectral type (SMASS): S
Derived Characteristics
- Orbit Period: 584 days (1.60 years)
- Avg. Orbit Speed: 25.48 km/s
- Aphelion Distance: 1.96 AU
- Perihelion Distance: 0.77 AU
- Rotation Period: 10.20 hours
- Approx. Composition: and .
Map Comparison
Orbit Simulation
Sky Map
The position of Toro 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 Toro 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.
