Key Facts

Overview

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

Horn-d'Arturo orbits the sun every 1,560 days (4.27 years), coming as close as 1.91 AU and reaching as far as 3.35 AU from the sun. Horn-d'Arturo is about 14.8 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Baltimore.

The rotation of Horn-d'Arturo has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 6.12 hours.

Horn-d'Arturo's spectral type None (Tholen) / Ch (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain water, iron, nickel, cobalt, nitrogen, and ammonia.

No Close Approaches

Horn-d'Arturo's orbit is 0.92 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a very 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

Horn-d'Arturo's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 20, 1955. It was last officially observed on May 9, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,240 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 Horn-d'Arturo:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.631 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2751
  • Inclination: 3.75°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 227.91°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 185.78°
  • Mean Anomaly: 119.59°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 14.75800 km
  • Magnitude: 13.13
  • Albedo: 0.046
  • Spectral type (SMASS): Ch

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,560 days (4.27 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 18.35 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.35 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.91 AU
  • Rotation Period: 6.12 hours
  • Approx. Composition: water, iron, nickel, cobalt, nitrogen, and ammonia.

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Horn-d'Arturo 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.