van der Meer

9678 van der Meer (2584 P-L)

Space Reference » Main-belt Asteroids » van der Meer

Key Facts

Overview

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

van der Meer orbits the sun every 1,540 days (4.22 years), coming as close as 2.06 AU and reaching as far as 3.15 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, van der Meer is probably between 1.624 to 3.631 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to Mount Everest.

No Close Approaches

van der Meer's orbit is 1.05 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

van der Meer's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 24, 1960. It was last officially observed on June 30, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 793 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 van der Meer:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.609 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.209
  • Inclination: 2.42°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 194.03°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 132.64°
  • Mean Anomaly: 5.22°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~2.096 km
  • Magnitude: 16.07

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,540 days (4.22 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 18.43 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.15 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.06 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of van der Meer 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 van der Meer 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.