Cava

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the U.S. state of Delaware (115.00 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

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

Cava orbits the sun every 1,610 days (4.41 years), coming as close as 2.04 AU and reaching as far as 3.34 AU from the sun. Cava is about 115.0 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. state of Delaware.

The rotation of Cava has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 8.18 hours.

No Close Approaches

Cava's orbit is 1.05 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

Cava's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 10, 1904. It was last officially observed on June 28, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,980 observations used to determine its orbit.

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

View asteroid Cava 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 Cava:

• 34 Circe (A855 GA)
• 64 Angelina (A861 EA)
• 98 Ianthe (A868 HA)

References

• JPL Small Body Database
• Mission Design
• Sky Finder Chart

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Cava 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.