Michelson

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay (5.33 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

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

Michelson orbits the sun every 1,930 days (5.28 years), coming as close as 2.74 AU and reaching as far as 3.33 AU from the sun. Michelson is about 5.3 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

No Close Approaches

Michelson's orbit is 1.77 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

Michelson's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 4, 1951. It was last officially observed on June 25, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 1,397 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 Michelson:

• 331 Etheridgea (A892 GA)
• 586 Thekla (A906 DK)
• 651 Antikleia (A907 TK)

References

• JPL Small Body Database
• Mission Design
• Sky Finder Chart

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Michelson 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 Michelson 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.