Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Jupiter Trojan
  • Comparable in size to the city of Indianapolis (22.66 km diameter)
  • Not a Near Earth Object
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

Philoctetes is a large asteroid that shares Jupiter's orbit around the sun. NASA JPL has not classified Philoctetes as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

Philoctetes orbits the sun every 4,310 days (11.80 years), coming as close as 4.84 AU and reaching as far as 5.52 AU from the sun. Philoctetes is about 22.7 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Indianapolis.

No Close Approaches

Philoctetes's orbit is 3.84 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

Philoctetes's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 24, 1960. It was last officially observed on March 28, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,619 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 Philoctetes:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 5.181 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.0663
  • Inclination: 3.97°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 43.84°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 326.38°
  • Mean Anomaly: 66.11°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 22.65500 km
  • Magnitude: 11.17
  • Albedo: 0.104

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 4,310 days (11.80 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 13.08 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 5.52 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 4.84 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Philoctetes 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.