Key Facts

Overview

Leukothea is a large asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter in the main portion of the asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified Leukothea as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

Leukothea orbits the sun every 1,900 days (5.20 years), coming as close as 2.33 AU and reaching as far as 3.67 AU from the sun. Leukothea is about 103.1 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. state of Delaware.

The rotation of Leukothea has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 31.90 hours.

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

No Close Approaches

Leukothea's orbit is 1.33 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

Leukothea's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 11, 1860. It was last officially observed on July 4, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 5,576 observations used to determine its orbit.

Scientists have been able to determine this object's shape:

View asteroid Leukothea in 3D.

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 Leukothea:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 3.001 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2229
  • Inclination: 7.92°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 353.71°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 214.03°
  • Mean Anomaly: 158.95°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 103.05500 km
  • Magnitude: 8.76
  • Albedo: 0.066
  • Spectral type (Tholen): C
  • Spectral type (SMASS): C

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,900 days (5.20 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 17.18 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.67 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.33 AU
  • Rotation Period: 31.90 hours
  • Approx. Composition: water, iron, nickel, cobalt, nitrogen, and ammonia.

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Leukothea 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.