Villigera

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Mars-crossing Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the city of Philadelphia
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

Villigera is a large asteroid with an orbit that crosses the orbit of Mars. NASA JPL has not classified Villigera as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

Villigera orbits the sun every 1,350 days (3.70 years), coming as close as 1.54 AU and reaching as far as 3.25 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, Villigera is probably between 13.260 to 29.651 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the city of Philadelphia.

The rotation of Villigera has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 7.83 hours.

No Close Approaches

Villigera's orbit is 0.71 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

Villigera's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 28, 1932. It was last officially observed on July 5, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,735 observations used to determine its orbit.

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

View asteroid Villigera 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 Villigera:

• 7 Iris (A847 PA)
• 9 Metis (A848 HA)
• 25 Phocaea (A853 GB)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Villigera 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.