Key Facts

Overview

Farinella is a large asteroid that orbits between Mars and Jupiter in the outer reaches of the main asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified Farinella as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

Farinella orbits the sun every 2,090 days (5.72 years), coming as close as 2.72 AU and reaching as far as 3.69 AU from the sun. Farinella is about 36.6 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Houston.

The rotation of Farinella has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 6.67 hours.

Farinella's spectral type None (Tholen) / D (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain .

No Close Approaches

Farinella's orbit is 1.72 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

Farinella's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 19, 1933. It was last officially observed on June 24, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 7,030 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 Farinella:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 3.203 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1517
  • Inclination: 10.9°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 12.04°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 317.41°
  • Mean Anomaly: 320.83°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 36.55300 km
  • Magnitude: 11.01
  • Albedo: 0.050
  • Spectral type (SMASS): D

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 2,090 days (5.72 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 16.67 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.69 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.72 AU
  • Rotation Period: 6.67 hours
  • Approx. Composition: .

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Farinella 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.