Key Facts

Overview

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

Sarema orbits the sun every 1,430 days (3.92 years), coming as close as 2.14 AU and reaching as far as 2.82 AU from the sun. Sarema is about 20.9 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Indianapolis.

The rotation of Sarema has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 10.32 hours.

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

No Close Approaches

Sarema's orbit is 1.16 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

Sarema's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 10, 1907. It was last officially observed on July 5, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,736 observations used to determine its orbit.

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

View asteroid Sarema 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 Sarema:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.479 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1363
  • Inclination: 4.03°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 73.15°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 25.63°
  • Mean Anomaly: 189.84°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 20.90500 km
  • Magnitude: 12.39
  • Albedo: 0.049
  • Spectral type (Tholen): F

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,430 days (3.92 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 18.86 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.82 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.14 AU
  • Rotation Period: 10.32 hours
  • Approx. Composition: water, iron, nickel, cobalt, nitrogen, and ammonia.

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Sarema 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.