Key Facts
- Categorized as a Main-belt Asteroid
- Comparable in size to the island of Manhattan
- Not a Near Earth Object
- Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
- See orbit simulation
Overview
La Spezia is a mid-sized asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter in the main portion of the asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified La Spezia as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.
La Spezia orbits the sun every 1,390 days (3.81 years), coming as close as 2.02 AU and reaching as far as 2.87 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, La Spezia is probably between 3.346 to 7.482 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the island of Manhattan.
No Close Approaches
La Spezia's orbit is 1.00 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
La Spezia's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 12, 1977. It was last officially observed on June 23, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,656 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 La Spezia:References
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or view a random objectOrbital Elements
- Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
- Semi-major axis: 2.443 AU
- Eccentricity: 0.1748
- Inclination: 2.48°
- Longitude of Ascending Node: 172.8°
- Argument of Periapsis: 98.81°
- Mean Anomaly: 350.32°
Physical Characteristics
- Diameter: ~4.320 km
- Magnitude: 14.5
Derived Characteristics
- Orbit Period: 1,390 days (3.81 years)
- Avg. Orbit Speed: 19.12 km/s
- Aphelion Distance: 2.87 AU
- Perihelion Distance: 2.02 AU
Map Comparison
Orbit Simulation
Sky Map
The position of La Spezia 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 La Spezia 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.
