Sophocles is a large asteroid that orbits between Mars and Jupiter in the outer reaches of the main asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified Sophocles as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.
Sophocles orbits the sun every 2,140 days (5.86 years), coming as close as 2.74 AU and reaching as far as 3.75 AU from the sun. Sophocles is about 10.5 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Boston.
The rotation of Sophocles has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 4.78 hours.
Sophocles's orbit is 1.74 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.
Sophocles's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 4, 1951. It was last officially observed on June 19, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,318 observations used to determine its orbit.
The position of Sophocles 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.