Nancita

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Mars-crossing Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay (9.64 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

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

Nancita orbits the sun every 1,330 days (3.64 years), coming as close as 1.66 AU and reaching as far as 3.07 AU from the sun. Nancita is about 9.6 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

The rotation of Nancita has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 3.87 hours.

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

No Close Approaches

Nancita's orbit is 0.68 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

Nancita's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Aug. 28, 1968. It was last officially observed on July 4, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,371 observations used to determine its orbit.

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

View asteroid Nancita 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 Nancita:

• 4 Vesta (A807 FA)
• 30 Urania (A854 OA)
• 51 Nemausa (A858 BA)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Nancita 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.