Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Jupiter Trojan
  • Comparable in size to the city of Philadelphia (17.51 km diameter)
  • Not a Near Earth Object
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

Epicles is a large asteroid that shares Jupiter's orbit around the sun. NASA JPL has not classified Epicles as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

Epicles orbits the sun every 4,420 days (12.10 years), coming as close as 5.04 AU and reaching as far as 5.50 AU from the sun. Epicles is about 17.5 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Philadelphia.

No Close Approaches

Epicles's orbit is 4.05 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

Epicles's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 24, 1954. It was last officially observed on Sept. 29, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 1,567 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 Epicles:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 5.268 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.0439
  • Inclination: 9.04°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 123.98°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 72.08°
  • Mean Anomaly: 135.88°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 17.50500 km
  • Magnitude: 11.79
  • Albedo: 0.132

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 4,420 days (12.10 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 12.97 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 5.50 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 5.04 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Epicles 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.