Skuld

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the city of Boston (10.13 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

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

Skuld orbits the sun every 1,210 days (3.31 years), coming as close as 1.79 AU and reaching as far as 2.67 AU from the sun. Skuld is about 10.1 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Boston.

The rotation of Skuld has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 4.81 hours.

No Close Approaches

Skuld's orbit is 0.78 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

Skuld's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 11, 1906. It was last officially observed on Feb. 3, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 4,375 observations used to determine its orbit.

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

View asteroid Skuld 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 Skuld:

• 291 Alice (A890 HA)
• 296 Phaetusa (A890 QB)
• 364 Isara (A893 FE)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Skuld 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.