Betulia

1580 Betulia (1950 KA)

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Amor-class Asteroids » Betulia

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Amor-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay (5.80 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 26,122,742 km of Earth in 2142
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

Betulia is a mid-sized asteroid whose orbit approaches the orbit of Earth but does not cross it. NASA JPL has classified Betulia as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.

Betulia orbits the sun every 1,190 days (3.26 years), coming as close as 1.13 AU and reaching as far as 3.27 AU from the sun. Betulia is about 5.8 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

The rotation of Betulia has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 6.13 hours.

Betulia's spectral type C (Tholen) / None (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain water, iron, nickel, cobalt, nitrogen, and ammonia.

Close Approaches

Betulia's orbit is 0.14 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

Betulia has 3 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 21, 2142 26,122,742 27.902
May 25, 2155 22,556,857 28.181
May 26, 2168 25,821,594 28.336

Images and Observations

Betulia's orbit is determined by observations dating back to May 22, 1950. It was last officially observed on Dec. 22, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 1,509 observations used to determine its orbit.

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

View asteroid Betulia 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 Betulia:

References

Search

   or view a random object

Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.198 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.487
  • Inclination: 52.15°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 62.23°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 159.59°
  • Mean Anomaly: 198.11°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 5.80000 km
  • Magnitude: 14.69
  • Albedo: 0.08
  • Spectral type (Tholen): C

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,190 days (3.26 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 20.09 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.27 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.13 AU
  • Rotation Period: 6.13 hours
  • Approx. Composition: water, iron, nickel, cobalt, nitrogen, and ammonia.

Map Comparison

Click to load map

Orbit Simulation

⧉

Sky Map

The position of Betulia 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 Betulia 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.