96155 (1973 HA)

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Mars-crossing Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay (5.31 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

96155 (1973 HA) is a mid-sized asteroid with an orbit that crosses the orbit of Mars. NASA JPL has not classified 1973 HA as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

1973 HA orbits the sun every 1,660 days (4.54 years), coming as close as 1.65 AU and reaching as far as 3.84 AU from the sun. 1973 HA is about 5.3 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

The rotation of 1973 HA has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 15.59 hours.

No Close Approaches

1973 HA's orbit is 0.79 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

1973 HA's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 27, 1973. It was last officially observed on June 24, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 1,145 observations used to determine its orbit.

Scientists have been able to determine this object's shape:

View asteroid 96155 (1973 HA) in 3D.

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 1973 HA:

• 36 Atalante (A855 TA)
• 38 Leda (A856 AA)
• 110 Lydia (A870 HA)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 96155 (1973 HA) 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 1973 HA 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.