Key Facts

Overview

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

Astraea orbits the sun every 1,510 days (4.13 years), coming as close as 2.09 AU and reaching as far as 3.06 AU from the sun. Astraea is about 106.7 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. state of Delaware.

The rotation of Astraea has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 16.81 hours.

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

No Close Approaches

Astraea's orbit is 1.11 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

Astraea's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 15, 1845. It was last officially observed on Feb. 2, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,463 observations used to determine its orbit.

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

View asteroid Astraea 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 Astraea:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.577 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1874
  • Inclination: 5.36°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 141.47°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 359.14°
  • Mean Anomaly: 303.4°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 106.69900 km
  • Magnitude: 7.0
  • Albedo: 0.274
  • Spectral type (Tholen): S
  • Spectral type (SMASS): S

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,510 days (4.13 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 18.57 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.06 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.09 AU
  • Rotation Period: 16.81 hours
  • Approx. Composition: and .

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Astraea 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.