Rhines

21727 Rhines (1999 RY135)

Space Reference » Main-belt Asteroids » Rhines

Key Facts

Overview

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

Rhines orbits the sun every 1,300 days (3.56 years), coming as close as 1.91 AU and reaching as far as 2.74 AU from the sun. Rhines is about 2.1 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to Mount Everest.

No Close Approaches

Rhines's orbit is 0.94 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a very 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

Rhines's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 24, 1990. It was last officially observed on June 26, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 1,836 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 Rhines:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.328 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1778
  • Inclination: 7.31°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 138.89°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 271.97°
  • Mean Anomaly: 220.59°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 2.13700 km
  • Magnitude: 15.27
  • Albedo: 0.387

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,300 days (3.56 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 19.48 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.74 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.91 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of Rhines 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 Rhines 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.