Dorchester

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Mars-crossing Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the island of Manhattan (3.32 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

Dorchester is a mid-sized asteroid with an orbit that crosses the orbit of Mars. NASA JPL has not classified Dorchester as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

Dorchester orbits the sun every 1,180 days (3.23 years), coming as close as 1.66 AU and reaching as far as 2.72 AU from the sun. Dorchester is about 3.3 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the island of Manhattan.

Dorchester's spectral type None (Tholen) / Sa (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain and .

No Close Approaches

Dorchester's orbit is 0.65 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

Dorchester's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 1, 1973. It was last officially observed on April 8, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,831 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 Dorchester:

• 254 Augusta (A886 FA)
• 270 Anahita (A887 TA)
• 281 Lucretia (A888 UC)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Dorchester 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 Dorchester 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.