53P/Van Biesbroeck

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Jupiter-family Comet
• Comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay (6.66 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

53P/Van Biesbroeck is a mid-sized comet whose orbit features a relatively short period, low inclination, and is controlled by Jupiter's gravitational effects. NASA JPL has not classified 53P/Van Biesbroeck as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

53P/Van Biesbroeck orbits the sun every 4,590 days (12.57 years), coming as close as 2.43 AU and reaching as far as 8.38 AU from the sun. 53P/Van Biesbroeck is about 6.7 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

No Close Approaches

53P/Van Biesbroeck's orbit is 1.42 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

53P/Van Biesbroeck's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 20, 2001. It was last officially observed on Feb. 3, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,920 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

This comet 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 53P/Van Biesbroeck:

• 2013 AP140
• 2014 EF115
• 2014 OY165

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 53P/Van Biesbroeck 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 53P/Van Biesbroeck 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.