18233 (4068 T-1)

Key Facts

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

Overview

18233 (4068 T-1) is a mid-sized asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter in the main portion of the asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified 4068 T-1 as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

4068 T-1 orbits the sun every 1,990 days (5.45 years), coming as close as 2.82 AU and reaching as far as 3.36 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 4068 T-1 is probably between 4.060 to 9.079 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

The rotation of 4068 T-1 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 8.39 hours.

No Close Approaches

4068 T-1's orbit is 1.85 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

4068 T-1's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 24, 1971. It was last officially observed on Dec. 22, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,352 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 4068 T-1:

• 49 Pales (A857 SB)
• 52 Europa (A858 CA)
• 100 Hekate (A868 NA)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 18233 (4068 T-1) 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 4068 T-1 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.