Saunders

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Amor-class Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge
• Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

Saunders is a small asteroid whose orbit approaches the orbit of Earth but does not cross it. NASA JPL has classified Saunders 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.

Saunders orbits the sun every 1,280 days (3.50 years), coming as close as 1.20 AU and reaching as far as 3.42 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, Saunders is probably between 0.439 to 0.982 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

The rotation of Saunders has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 4.31 hours.

Saunders's spectral type None (Tholen) / Sq (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain and .

No Close Approaches

Saunders's orbit is 0.19 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

Saunders's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 20, 1982. It was last officially observed on Jan. 15, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 903 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 Saunders:

• 428 Monachia (A897 WA)
• 654 Zelinda (A908 AM)
• 689 Zita (A916 RB)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Saunders 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 Saunders 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.