Key Facts

Overview

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

Wilson orbits the sun every 1,670 days (4.57 years), coming as close as 2.55 AU and reaching as far as 2.96 AU from the sun. Wilson is about 21.7 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Indianapolis.

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

No Close Approaches

Wilson's orbit is 1.53 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

Wilson's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Aug. 2, 1949. It was last officially observed on Dec. 22, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,830 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 Wilson:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.755 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.0755
  • Inclination: 3.85°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 293.76°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 6.85°
  • Mean Anomaly: 100.79°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 21.68500 km
  • Magnitude: 12.46
  • Albedo: 0.024
  • Spectral type (SMASS): Ch

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,670 days (4.57 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 17.95 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.96 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.55 AU
  • Approx. Composition: water, iron, nickel, cobalt, nitrogen, and ammonia.

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Wilson 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.