Key Facts

Overview

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

Hoffmeister orbits the sun every 1,700 days (4.65 years), coming as close as 2.66 AU and reaching as far as 2.91 AU from the sun. Hoffmeister is about 25.3 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Indianapolis.

The rotation of Hoffmeister has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 11.71 hours.

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

No Close Approaches

Hoffmeister's orbit is 1.65 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

Hoffmeister's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 22, 1924. It was last officially observed on March 5, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 4,090 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 Hoffmeister:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.786 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.0453
  • Inclination: 3.49°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 230.75°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 67.38°
  • Mean Anomaly: 149.62°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 25.25000 km
  • Magnitude: 12.33
  • Albedo: 0.037
  • Spectral type (SMASS): Cb

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,700 days (4.65 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 17.83 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.91 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.66 AU
  • Rotation Period: 11.71 hours
  • Approx. Composition: water, iron, nickel, cobalt, nitrogen, and ammonia.

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Hoffmeister 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.