Key Facts

Overview

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

Paavo Nurmi orbits the sun every 1,420 days (3.89 years), coming as close as 2.00 AU and reaching as far as 2.94 AU from the sun. Paavo Nurmi is about 12.8 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Cleveland, Ohio.

Paavo Nurmi's spectral type F (Tholen) / None (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain water, iron, nickel, cobalt, nitrogen, and ammonia.

No Close Approaches

Paavo Nurmi's orbit is 1.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a very 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

Paavo Nurmi's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 7, 1939. It was last officially observed on June 25, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,796 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 Paavo Nurmi:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.468 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1899
  • Inclination: 2.0°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 296.02°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 78.79°
  • Mean Anomaly: 243.14°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 12.76200 km
  • Magnitude: 13.34
  • Albedo: 0.046
  • Spectral type (Tholen): F

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,420 days (3.89 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 18.91 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.94 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.00 AU
  • Approx. Composition: water, iron, nickel, cobalt, nitrogen, and ammonia.

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Paavo Nurmi 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.