Key Facts
- Categorized as a Outer Main-belt Asteroid
- Comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay (5.59 km diameter)
- Not a Near Earth Object
- Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
- See orbit simulation
Overview
Protos is a mid-sized asteroid that orbits between Mars and Jupiter in the outer reaches of the main asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified Protos as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.
Protos orbits the sun every 2,100 days (5.75 years), coming as close as 2.81 AU and reaching as far as 3.60 AU from the sun. Protos is about 5.6 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.
No Close Approaches
Protos's orbit is 1.83 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
Protos's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 6, 1977. It was last officially observed on April 26, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 1,891 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 Protos:References
Search
or view a random objectOrbital Elements
- Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
- Semi-major axis: 3.205 AU
- Eccentricity: 0.124
- Inclination: 27.93°
- Longitude of Ascending Node: 48.21°
- Argument of Periapsis: 332.14°
- Mean Anomaly: 327.3°
Physical Characteristics
- Diameter: 5.58900 km
- Magnitude: 13.69
- Albedo: 0.271
Derived Characteristics
- Orbit Period: 2,100 days (5.75 years)
- Avg. Orbit Speed: 16.60 km/s
- Aphelion Distance: 3.60 AU
- Perihelion Distance: 2.81 AU
Map Comparison
Orbit Simulation
Sky Map
The position of Protos 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 Protos 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.
