Key Facts

Overview

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

Caupolican orbits the sun every 2,060 days (5.64 years), coming as close as 2.86 AU and reaching as far as 3.47 AU from the sun. Caupolican is about 11.6 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Cleveland, Ohio.

No Close Approaches

Caupolican's orbit is 1.87 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

Caupolican's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Aug. 7, 1951. It was last officially observed on June 24, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,717 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 Caupolican:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 3.167 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.0964
  • Inclination: 10.22°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 168.23°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 90.07°
  • Mean Anomaly: 328.07°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 11.58800 km
  • Magnitude: 13.14
  • Albedo: 0.083

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 2,060 days (5.64 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 16.73 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.47 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.86 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Caupolican 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.