Keizan

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Mars-crossing Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay (5.61 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

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

Keizan orbits the sun every 1,320 days (3.61 years), coming as close as 1.61 AU and reaching as far as 3.11 AU from the sun. Keizan is about 5.6 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

The rotation of Keizan has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 19.68 hours.

No Close Approaches

Keizan's orbit is 0.72 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

Keizan's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Aug. 22, 1982. It was last officially observed on March 4, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,611 observations used to determine its orbit.

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 Keizan:

• 4 Vesta (A807 FA)
• 30 Urania (A854 OA)
• 51 Nemausa (A858 BA)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Keizan 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 above comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of Keizan to create an approximate landscape rendering with Mount Everest in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.