Balseiro

6109 Balseiro (1975 QC)

Space Reference » Main-belt Asteroids » Balseiro

Key Facts

Overview

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

Balseiro orbits the sun every 1,310 days (3.59 years), coming as close as 2.02 AU and reaching as far as 2.67 AU from the sun. Balseiro is about 4.6 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the island of Manhattan.

No Close Approaches

Balseiro's orbit is 1.01 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

Balseiro's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Aug. 11, 1975. It was last officially observed on Feb. 19, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,341 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 Balseiro:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.347 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1386
  • Inclination: 6.84°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 166.03°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 171.58°
  • Mean Anomaly: 109.76°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 4.58000 km
  • Magnitude: 13.76
  • Albedo: 0.403

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,310 days (3.59 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 19.49 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.67 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.02 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of Balseiro 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 Balseiro 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.