Key Facts
- Categorized as a Amor-class Asteroid
- Comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay (4.90 km diameter)
- Will pass within 7,473,734 km of Earth in 2057
- Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
- Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
- See orbit simulation
Overview
Florence is a mid-sized asteroid whose orbit approaches the orbit of Earth but does not cross it. NASA JPL has classified Florence as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.
Florence orbits the sun every 859 days (2.35 years), coming as close as 1.02 AU and reaching as far as 2.52 AU from the sun. Florence is about 4.9 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.
The rotation of Florence has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 2.36 hours.
Florence's spectral type None (Tholen) / S (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain and .
Close Approaches
Florence's orbit is 0.04 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.
Florence has 4 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:
| Date | Distance from Earth (km) | Velocity (km/s) |
|---|---|---|
| Sept. 2, 2057 | 7,473,734 | 13.472 |
| Sept. 11, 2097 | 23,313,152 | 12.991 |
| Aug. 27, 2130 | 13,011,731 | 14.604 |
| Aug. 28, 2170 | 11,687,989 | 14.496 |
Images and Observations
Florence's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 9, 1979. It was last officially observed on June 7, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 8,133 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 Florence:References
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or view a random objectOrbital Elements
- Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
- Semi-major axis: 1.769 AU
- Eccentricity: 0.4231
- Inclination: 22.14°
- Longitude of Ascending Node: 336.06°
- Argument of Periapsis: 27.88°
- Mean Anomaly: 193.13°
Physical Characteristics
- Diameter: 4.90000 km
- Magnitude: 14.1
- Albedo: 0.231
- Spectral type (SMASS): S
Derived Characteristics
- Orbit Period: 859 days (2.35 years)
- Avg. Orbit Speed: 22.40 km/s
- Aphelion Distance: 2.52 AU
- Perihelion Distance: 1.02 AU
- Rotation Period: 2.36 hours
- Approx. Composition: and .
Map Comparison
Orbit Simulation
Sky Map
The position of Florence 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 Florence 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.
