Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Amor-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to Mount Everest (2.80 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 23,580,399 km of Earth in 2101
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

Seleucus is a mid-sized asteroid whose orbit approaches the orbit of Earth but does not cross it. NASA JPL has classified Seleucus as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.

Seleucus orbits the sun every 1,060 days (2.90 years), coming as close as 1.11 AU and reaching as far as 2.96 AU from the sun. Seleucus is about 2.8 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to Mount Everest.

The rotation of Seleucus has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 75.00 hours.

Seleucus's spectral type S (Tholen) / K (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain water, iron, nickel, cobalt, nitrogen, and ammonia.

Close Approaches

Seleucus's orbit is 0.10 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.

Seleucus has 2 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 13, 2101 23,580,399 6.877
April 30, 2156 18,218,766 6.122

Images and Observations

Seleucus's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 28, 1982. It was last officially observed on July 24, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,206 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 Seleucus:

References

Search

   or view a random object

Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.033 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4562
  • Inclination: 5.93°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 218.62°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 349.3°
  • Mean Anomaly: 105.29°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 2.80000 km
  • Magnitude: 15.35
  • Albedo: 0.22
  • Spectral type (Tholen): S
  • Spectral type (SMASS): K

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,060 days (2.90 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 20.87 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.96 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.11 AU
  • Rotation Period: 75.00 hours
  • Approx. Composition: water, iron, nickel, cobalt, nitrogen, and ammonia.

Map Comparison

Click to load map

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Seleucus 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 Seleucus 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.