Key Facts

Overview

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

Snelling orbits the sun every 2,050 days (5.61 years), coming as close as 2.77 AU and reaching as far as 3.55 AU from the sun. Snelling is about 20.1 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Indianapolis.

The rotation of Snelling has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 7.24 hours.

No Close Approaches

Snelling's orbit is 1.78 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is an extremely 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

Snelling's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 23, 1949. It was last officially observed on Feb. 17, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,970 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 Snelling:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 3.162 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1232
  • Inclination: 21.68°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 211.14°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 169.89°
  • Mean Anomaly: 44.01°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 20.10700 km
  • Magnitude: 12.01
  • Albedo: 0.063

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 2,050 days (5.61 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 16.78 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.55 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.77 AU
  • Rotation Period: 7.24 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Snelling 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.