Key Facts

Overview

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

Tea orbits the sun every 1,180 days (3.23 years), coming as close as 1.94 AU and reaching as far as 2.42 AU from the sun. Tea is about 24.0 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Indianapolis.

The rotation of Tea has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 6.81 hours.

Tea's spectral type S (Tholen) / S (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain and .

No Close Approaches

Tea's orbit is 0.94 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

Tea's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 22, 1900. It was last officially observed on July 5, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 6,162 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 Tea:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.183 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1092
  • Inclination: 5.55°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 11.67°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 220.27°
  • Mean Anomaly: 33.29°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 23.98500 km
  • Magnitude: 10.67
  • Albedo: 0.137
  • Spectral type (Tholen): S
  • Spectral type (SMASS): S

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,180 days (3.23 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 20.13 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.42 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.94 AU
  • Rotation Period: 6.81 hours
  • Approx. Composition: and .

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Tea 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.