6003 (1988 VO1)

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

6003 (1988 VO1) is a mid-sized asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter in the main portion of the asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified 1988 VO1 as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

1988 VO1 orbits the sun every 1,310 days (3.59 years), coming as close as 2.06 AU and reaching as far as 2.62 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 1988 VO1 is probably between 5.088 to 11.377 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

The rotation of 1988 VO1 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 104.41 hours.

No Close Approaches

1988 VO1's orbit is 1.06 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

1988 VO1's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 10, 1980. It was last officially observed on July 5, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 4,005 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 1988 VO1:

• 12 Victoria (A850 RA)
• 27 Euterpe (A853 VA)
• 220 Stephania (A881 KA)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 6003 (1988 VO1) 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 1988 VO1 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.