Key Facts

Overview

Vulcano is a mid-sized asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter within the inner portion of the asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified Vulcano as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

Vulcano orbits the sun every 996 days (2.73 years), coming as close as 1.82 AU and reaching as far as 2.08 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, Vulcano is probably between 4.792 to 10.716 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

The rotation of Vulcano has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 3.21 hours.

No Close Approaches

Vulcano's orbit is 0.84 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

Vulcano's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 18, 1955. It was last officially observed on July 1, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,549 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 Vulcano:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.952 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.0676
  • Inclination: 20.21°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 11.73°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 314.5°
  • Mean Anomaly: 4.16°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~6.187 km
  • Magnitude: 13.72

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 996 days (2.73 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 21.32 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.08 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.82 AU
  • Rotation Period: 3.21 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Vulcano 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 Vulcano 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.