19086 (1978 VB3)

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the city of Cleveland, Ohio (14.17 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

19086 (1978 VB3) is a large asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter in the main portion of the asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified 1978 VB3 as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

1978 VB3 orbits the sun every 1,980 days (5.42 years), coming as close as 2.83 AU and reaching as far as 3.35 AU from the sun. 1978 VB3 is about 14.2 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Cleveland, Ohio.

The rotation of 1978 VB3 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 6.26 hours.

No Close Approaches

1978 VB3's orbit is 1.86 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

1978 VB3's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 5, 1978. It was last officially observed on May 15, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,817 observations used to determine its orbit.

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

View asteroid 19086 (1978 VB3) 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 1978 VB3:

• 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 19086 (1978 VB3) 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.