Masaryk

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Outer Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the city of Houston (40.24 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

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

Masaryk orbits the sun every 2,290 days (6.27 years), coming as close as 3.02 AU and reaching as far as 3.79 AU from the sun. Masaryk is about 40.2 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Houston.

The rotation of Masaryk has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 7.53 hours.

No Close Approaches

Masaryk's orbit is 2.03 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

Masaryk's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 23, 1936. It was last officially observed on March 18, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 4,388 observations used to determine its orbit.

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

View asteroid Masaryk 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 Masaryk:

• 76 Freia (A862 UA)
• 225 Henrietta (A882 HA)
• 319 Leona (A891 TA)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Masaryk 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.