Key Facts

Overview

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

Viipuri orbits the sun every 1,620 days (4.44 years), coming as close as 2.48 AU and reaching as far as 2.91 AU from the sun. Viipuri is about 26.3 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Indianapolis.

The rotation of Viipuri has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 3.83 hours.

Viipuri's spectral type None (Tholen) / C (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain water, iron, nickel, cobalt, nitrogen, and ammonia.

No Close Approaches

Viipuri's orbit is 1.49 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

Viipuri's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 19, 1928. It was last officially observed on July 3, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 4,006 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 Viipuri:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.695 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.08
  • Inclination: 1.48°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 307.26°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 173.18°
  • Mean Anomaly: 260.74°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 26.25500 km
  • Magnitude: 12.1
  • Albedo: 0.049
  • Spectral type (SMASS): C

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,620 days (4.44 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 18.10 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.91 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.48 AU
  • Rotation Period: 3.83 hours
  • Approx. Composition: water, iron, nickel, cobalt, nitrogen, and ammonia.

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Viipuri 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.