Key Facts

Overview

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

Maritima orbits the sun every 2,020 days (5.53 years), coming as close as 2.57 AU and reaching as far as 3.69 AU from the sun. Maritima is about 82.7 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. state of Delaware.

The rotation of Maritima has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 1332.00 hours.

Maritima's spectral type None (Tholen) / C (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain water, iron, nickel, cobalt, nitrogen, and ammonia.

No Close Approaches

Maritima's orbit is 1.66 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

Maritima's orbit is determined by observations dating back to May 19, 1930. It was last officially observed on May 13, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 4,493 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 Maritima:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 3.129 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1791
  • Inclination: 18.31°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 33.43°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 91.37°
  • Mean Anomaly: 22.12°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 82.67500 km
  • Magnitude: 9.35
  • Albedo: 0.039
  • Spectral type (SMASS): C

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 2,020 days (5.53 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 16.85 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.69 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.57 AU
  • Rotation Period: 1,332.00 hours
  • Approx. Composition: water, iron, nickel, cobalt, nitrogen, and ammonia.

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Maritima 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.