Diebel

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay (7.45 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

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

Diebel orbits the sun every 1,690 days (4.63 years), coming as close as 2.29 AU and reaching as far as 3.26 AU from the sun. Diebel is about 7.4 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

The rotation of Diebel has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 13.33 hours.

No Close Approaches

Diebel's orbit is 1.31 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

Diebel's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 8, 1951. It was last officially observed on June 30, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,305 observations used to determine its orbit.

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

View asteroid Diebel 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 Diebel:

• 2 Pallas (A802 FA)
• 28 Bellona (A854 EA)
• 39 Laetitia (A856 CA)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Diebel 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.