Key Facts

Overview

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

Maria orbits the sun every 1,490 days (4.08 years), coming as close as 2.40 AU and reaching as far as 2.71 AU from the sun. Maria is about 33.1 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of New York.

The rotation of Maria has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 13.12 hours.

Maria's spectral type S (Tholen) / S (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain and .

No Close Approaches

Maria's orbit is 1.42 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

Maria's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 22, 1877. It was last officially observed on Feb. 19, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 6,511 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 Maria:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.554 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.0614
  • Inclination: 14.36°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 301.19°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 158.26°
  • Mean Anomaly: 357.03°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 33.13600 km
  • Magnitude: 9.41
  • Albedo: 0.282
  • Spectral type (Tholen): S
  • Spectral type (SMASS): S

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,490 days (4.08 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 18.65 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.71 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.40 AU
  • Rotation Period: 13.12 hours
  • Approx. Composition: and .

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Maria 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.