38079 (1999 HF)

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the island of Manhattan (3.42 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

38079 (1999 HF) is a mid-sized asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter in the main portion of the asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified 1999 HF as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

1999 HF orbits the sun every 1,290 days (3.53 years), coming as close as 1.87 AU and reaching as far as 2.77 AU from the sun. 1999 HF is about 3.4 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the island of Manhattan.

The rotation of 1999 HF has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 16.68 hours.

No Close Approaches

1999 HF's orbit is 0.88 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

1999 HF's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 17, 1993. It was last officially observed on April 15, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,649 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 1999 HF:

• 261 Prymno (A886 UA)
• 326 Tamara (A892 FD)
• 345 Tercidina (A892 WB)

References

• JPL Small Body Database
• Mission Design
• Sky Finder Chart

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 38079 (1999 HF) 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 1999 HF 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.