Ishtar

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Amor-class Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the U.S. Pentagon (1.30 km diameter)
• Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

Ishtar is a mid-sized asteroid whose orbit approaches the orbit of Earth but does not cross it. NASA JPL has classified Ishtar as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.

Ishtar orbits the sun every 1,020 days (2.79 years), coming as close as 1.21 AU and reaching as far as 2.75 AU from the sun. Ishtar is about 1.3 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. Pentagon.

The rotation of Ishtar has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 2.68 hours.

No Close Approaches

Ishtar's orbit is 0.22 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a 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

Ishtar's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 3, 1981. It was last officially observed on July 9, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 1,400 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 Ishtar:

• 1025 Riema (A923 PG)
• 3101 Goldberger (1978 GB)
• 3447 Burckhalter (1956 SC)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Ishtar 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 Ishtar 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.