Key Facts
- Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
- Comparable in size to a football field (0.30 km diameter)
- Will pass within 5,768,687 km of Earth in 2021
- Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
- Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
- See orbit simulation
Overview
Orpheus is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified Orpheus as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.
Orpheus orbits the sun every 486 days (1.33 years), coming as close as 0.82 AU and reaching as far as 1.60 AU from the sun. Orpheus is about 0.3 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, comparable in size to a football field.
The rotation of Orpheus has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 3.53 hours.
Close Approaches
Orpheus's orbit is 0.01 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.
Orpheus has 22 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:
| Date | Distance from Earth (km) | Velocity (km/s) |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 21, 2021 | 5,768,687 | 8.139 |
| Nov. 19, 2025 | 5,673,468 | 9.077 |
| Nov. 14, 2029 | 12,597,020 | 10.916 |
| Nov. 10, 2033 | 24,814,170 | 13.501 |
| April 26, 2083 | 17,855,211 | 12.139 |
| April 21, 2087 | 7,712,474 | 10.093 |
| April 18, 2091 | 3,160,566 | 9.087 |
| April 21, 2095 | 7,928,067 | 10.135 |
| April 26, 2099 | 18,050,783 | 12.178 |
| Nov. 16, 2149 | 17,015,437 | 11.865 |
| Nov. 21, 2153 | 7,249,943 | 9.582 |
| Nov. 24, 2157 | 5,530,629 | 8.365 |
| Nov. 29, 2161 | 9,555,196 | 7.039 |
| Dec. 15, 2165 | 16,822,131 | 6.096 |
| Jan. 7, 2170 | 22,385,183 | 6.948 |
| Jan. 26, 2174 | 24,802,976 | 7.565 |
| Feb. 12, 2178 | 24,803,947 | 7.605 |
| March 2, 2182 | 22,634,119 | 7.127 |
| March 20, 2186 | 18,392,798 | 6.425 |
| April 7, 2190 | 11,855,866 | 6.558 |
| April 15, 2194 | 5,733,133 | 7.641 |
| April 16, 2198 | 3,908,562 | 8.081 |
Images and Observations
Orpheus's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 24, 1982. It was last officially observed on Feb. 10, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,729 observations used to determine its orbit.
Accessibility and Exploration
Orpheus can be reached with a journey of 354 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 9.15 km/s. To put this into perspective, the delta-v to launch a rocket to Low-Earth Orbit is 9.7 km/s. There are 17,332 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.
See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for Orpheus.
Similar Objects
These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of Orpheus:References
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or view a random objectOrbital Elements
- Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
- Semi-major axis: 1.21 AU
- Eccentricity: 0.3229
- Inclination: 2.66°
- Longitude of Ascending Node: 188.68°
- Argument of Periapsis: 302.36°
- Mean Anomaly: 88.47°
Physical Characteristics
- Diameter: 0.30000 km
- Magnitude: 19.56
- Albedo: 0.357
Derived Characteristics
- Orbit Period: 486 days (1.33 years)
- Avg. Orbit Speed: 27.09 km/s
- Aphelion Distance: 1.60 AU
- Perihelion Distance: 0.82 AU
- Rotation Period: 3.53 hours
Map Comparison
Orbit Simulation
Sky Map
The position of Orpheus 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 below comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of Orpheus to create an approximate landscape rendering with New York City in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.
