147P/Kushida-Muramatsu

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Encke-type Comet
• Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building (0.42 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

147P/Kushida-Muramatsu is a very small comet whose orbit brings it closer to the sun than Jupiter. NASA JPL has not classified 147P/Kushida-Muramatsu as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

147P/Kushida-Muramatsu orbits the sun every 2,710 days (7.42 years), coming as close as 2.76 AU and reaching as far as 4.86 AU from the sun. 147P/Kushida-Muramatsu is about 0.4 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

No Close Approaches

147P/Kushida-Muramatsu's orbit is 1.77 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

147P/Kushida-Muramatsu's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 8, 1993. It was last officially observed on Feb. 22, 2009. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 256 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

This comet 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 147P/Kushida-Muramatsu:

• 45721 (2000 GZ42)
• 494667 (2001 WX1)
• 508861 (2002 RN38)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 147P/Kushida-Muramatsu 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 below comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 147P/Kushida-Muramatsu to create an approximate landscape rendering with New York City in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.