Key Facts

Overview

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

Gardner orbits the sun every 2,060 days (5.64 years), coming as close as 2.68 AU and reaching as far as 3.66 AU from the sun. Gardner is about 20.6 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Indianapolis.

The rotation of Gardner has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 11.63 hours.

No Close Approaches

Gardner's orbit is 1.66 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

Gardner's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 23, 1955. It was last officially observed on June 12, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 4,098 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 Gardner:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 3.168 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1544
  • Inclination: 2.63°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 87.74°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 183.41°
  • Mean Anomaly: 281.21°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 20.56400 km
  • Magnitude: 11.68
  • Albedo: 0.115

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 2,060 days (5.64 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 16.73 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.66 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.68 AU
  • Rotation Period: 11.63 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Gardner 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.