Sisyphus is a mid-sized asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified Sisyphus 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.
Sisyphus orbits the sun every 952 days (2.61 years), coming as close as 0.87 AU and reaching as far as 2.91 AU from the sun. Sisyphus is about 8.5 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.
The rotation of Sisyphus has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 2.40 hours.
Sisyphus's spectral type None (Tholen) / S (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain and .
Sisyphus's orbit is 0.10 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.
Sisyphus has 4 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:
| Date | Distance from Earth (km) | Velocity (km/s) |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 18, 2058 | 22,932,607 | 23.767 |
| Nov. 24, 2071 | 17,325,529 | 26.022 |
| Nov. 21, 2157 | 17,137,503 | 24.741 |
| Nov. 27, 2170 | 24,607,619 | 27.248 |
Sisyphus's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 26, 1955. It was last officially observed on July 27, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 7,990 observations used to determine its orbit.
The position of Sisyphus 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.