18487 (1996 AU3)

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay (7.11 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

18487 (1996 AU3) is a mid-sized asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter in the main portion of the asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified 1996 AU3 as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

1996 AU3 orbits the sun every 1,570 days (4.30 years), coming as close as 2.17 AU and reaching as far as 3.12 AU from the sun. 1996 AU3 is about 7.1 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

The rotation of 1996 AU3 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 6.51 hours.

No Close Approaches

1996 AU3's orbit is 1.16 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

1996 AU3's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 26, 1990. It was last officially observed on July 4, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,290 observations used to determine its orbit.

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

View asteroid 18487 (1996 AU3) 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 1996 AU3:

• 15 Eunomia (A851 OA)
• 37 Fides (A855 TB)
• 50 Virginia (A857 TA)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 18487 (1996 AU3) 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.