Lac d'Orient

4943 Lac d'Orient (1987 OQ)

Space Reference » Main-belt Asteroids » Lac d'Orient

Key Facts

Overview

Lac d'Orient is a mid-sized asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter in the main portion of the asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified Lac d'Orient as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

Lac d'Orient orbits the sun every 1,570 days (4.30 years), coming as close as 2.18 AU and reaching as far as 3.12 AU from the sun. Lac d'Orient is about 6.4 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

The rotation of Lac d'Orient has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 11.81 hours.

No Close Approaches

Lac d'Orient's orbit is 1.20 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

Lac d'Orient's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 14, 1979. It was last officially observed on April 15, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,510 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 Lac d'Orient:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.648 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1767
  • Inclination: 11.98°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 241.31°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 135.27°
  • Mean Anomaly: 97.64°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 6.43900 km
  • Magnitude: 13.27
  • Albedo: 0.323

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,570 days (4.30 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 18.35 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.12 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.18 AU
  • Rotation Period: 11.81 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of Lac d'Orient 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 Lac d'Orient 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.