Ra-Shalom

2100 Ra-Shalom (1978 RA)

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » Ra-Shalom

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to Mount Everest (2.30 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 26,886,605 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

Ra-Shalom is a mid-sized asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified Ra-Shalom 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.

Ra-Shalom orbits the sun every 277 days (0.76 years), coming as close as 0.47 AU and reaching as far as 1.20 AU from the sun. Ra-Shalom is about 2.3 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to Mount Everest.

The rotation of Ra-Shalom has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 19.80 hours.

Ra-Shalom's spectral type C (Tholen) / Xc (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain iron, nickel, cobalt, and platinum.

Close Approaches

Ra-Shalom's orbit is 0.15 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.

Ra-Shalom has 39 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 21, 2019 26,886,605 11.343
Aug. 31, 2022 28,024,367 11.348
Aug. 12, 2025 25,866,404 12.225
Oct. 15, 2035 28,514,597 15.211
Oct. 5, 2038 23,235,913 11.646
Sept. 15, 2041 27,879,055 11.343
Aug. 25, 2044 27,272,664 11.381
Aug. 10, 2047 26,917,495 13.181
Oct. 13, 2057 24,617,454 13.763
Sept. 29, 2060 24,734,516 11.421
Sept. 10, 2063 28,318,115 11.338
Aug. 20, 2066 26,331,895 11.522
Aug. 8, 2069 29,720,585 14.501
Oct. 12, 2079 22,765,066 12.614
Sept. 24, 2082 26,274,004 11.359
Sept. 3, 2085 28,202,677 11.328
Aug. 15, 2088 25,688,071 11.895
Oct. 9, 2101 22,830,914 11.883
Sept. 19, 2104 27,444,008 11.354
Aug. 30, 2107 27,599,113 11.337
Aug. 12, 2110 25,960,964 12.633
Oct. 15, 2120 26,659,476 14.523
Oct. 4, 2123 24,042,008 11.502
Sept. 14, 2126 28,117,400 11.354
Aug. 24, 2129 26,696,131 11.419
Aug. 10, 2132 27,785,853 13.763
Oct. 14, 2142 23,715,371 13.207
Sept. 28, 2145 25,560,672 11.364
Sept. 8, 2148 28,273,326 11.347
Aug. 19, 2151 25,794,096 11.661
Oct. 11, 2164 22,792,039 12.233
Sept. 23, 2167 26,907,970 11.336
Sept. 2, 2170 27,902,371 11.335
Aug. 14, 2173 25,458,245 12.203
Oct. 16, 2183 29,281,100 15.351
Oct. 7, 2186 23,450,843 11.680
Sept. 17, 2189 27,835,909 11.344
Aug. 27, 2192 27,100,414 11.357
Aug. 12, 2195 26,411,954 13.139

Images and Observations

Ra-Shalom's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 3, 1975. It was last officially observed on July 26, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,796 observations used to determine its orbit.

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

View asteroid Ra-Shalom 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 Ra-Shalom:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.832 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4365
  • Inclination: 15.76°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 170.78°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 356.08°
  • Mean Anomaly: 290.15°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 2.30000 km
  • Magnitude: 16.23
  • Albedo: 0.13
  • Spectral type (Tholen): C
  • Spectral type (SMASS): Xc

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 277 days (0.76 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 32.68 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.20 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.47 AU
  • Rotation Period: 19.80 hours
  • Approx. Composition: iron, nickel, cobalt, and platinum.

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of Ra-Shalom 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.

Size Rendering

The above comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of Ra-Shalom to create an approximate landscape rendering with Mount Everest in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.