Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Jupiter Trojan
  • Comparable in size to the city of Houston (37.86 km diameter)
  • Not a Near Earth Object
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

Sinon is a large asteroid that shares Jupiter's orbit around the sun. NASA JPL has not classified Sinon as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

Sinon orbits the sun every 4,450 days (12.18 years), coming as close as 4.85 AU and reaching as far as 5.74 AU from the sun. Sinon is about 37.9 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Houston.

The rotation of Sinon has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 8.14 hours.

No Close Approaches

Sinon's orbit is 3.90 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

Sinon's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 24, 1955. It was last officially observed on April 7, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,533 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 Sinon:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 5.295 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.0838
  • Inclination: 14.88°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 341.07°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 104.5°
  • Mean Anomaly: 1.13°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 37.86200 km
  • Magnitude: 10.39
  • Albedo: 0.093

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 4,450 days (12.18 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 12.94 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 5.74 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 4.85 AU
  • Rotation Period: 8.14 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Sinon 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.