Merope is a large asteroid that orbits between Mars and Jupiter in the outer reaches of the main asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified Merope as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.
Merope orbits the sun every 2,100 days (5.75 years), coming as close as 2.89 AU and reaching as far as 3.54 AU from the sun. Merope is about 60.4 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. state of Rhode Island.
The rotation of Merope has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 13.71 hours.
Merope's orbit is 1.89 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.
Merope's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 16, 1925. It was last officially observed on July 4, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 5,190 observations used to determine its orbit.
The position of Merope 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.