Key Facts

Overview

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

Beatty orbits the sun every 1,350 days (3.70 years), coming as close as 1.94 AU and reaching as far as 2.84 AU from the sun. Beatty is about 7.1 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

The rotation of Beatty has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 3.66 hours.

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

No Close Approaches

Beatty's orbit is 0.95 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a very 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

Beatty's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 15, 1950. It was last officially observed on March 28, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,316 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 Beatty:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.387 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1886
  • Inclination: 2.23°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 216.98°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 278.64°
  • Mean Anomaly: 5.86°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 7.10100 km
  • Magnitude: 13.86
  • Albedo: 0.097
  • Spectral type (SMASS): Cgh

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,350 days (3.70 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 19.24 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.84 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.94 AU
  • Rotation Period: 3.66 hours
  • Approx. Composition: water, iron, nickel, cobalt, nitrogen, and ammonia.

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Beatty 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.