David Hughes

Key Facts

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

Overview

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

David Hughes orbits the sun every 829 days (2.27 years), coming as close as 1.47 AU and reaching as far as 1.98 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, David Hughes is probably between 3.300 to 7.380 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the island of Manhattan.

The rotation of David Hughes has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 24.00 hours.

David Hughes's spectral type None (Tholen) / Xe (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain iron, nickel, and cobalt.

No Close Approaches

David Hughes's orbit is 0.55 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

David Hughes's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 6, 1980. It was last officially observed on July 5, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,504 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 David Hughes:

• 4487 Pocahontas (1987 UA)
• 11398 (1998 YP11)
• 15745 Yuliya (1991 PM5)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of David Hughes 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 David Hughes 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.