Lovejoy

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to Mount Everest
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

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

Lovejoy orbits the sun every 1,340 days (3.67 years), coming as close as 1.88 AU and reaching as far as 2.88 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, Lovejoy is probably between 1.740 to 3.891 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to Mount Everest.

No Close Approaches

Lovejoy's orbit is 0.86 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a very 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

Lovejoy's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 5, 1995. It was last officially observed on Dec. 22, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 1,170 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 Lovejoy:

• 105 Artemis (A868 SA)
• 113 Amalthea (A871 EA)
• 115 Thyra (A871 PA)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Lovejoy 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 Lovejoy 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.