Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Jupiter Trojan
  • Comparable in size to the city of Indianapolis (23.79 km diameter)
  • Not a Near Earth Object
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

17421 (1988 SW1) is a large asteroid that shares Jupiter's orbit around the sun. NASA JPL has not classified 1988 SW1 as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

1988 SW1 orbits the sun every 4,260 days (11.66 years), coming as close as 4.63 AU and reaching as far as 5.66 AU from the sun. 1988 SW1 is about 23.8 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Indianapolis.

No Close Approaches

1988 SW1's orbit is 3.64 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

1988 SW1's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 15, 1988. It was last officially observed on Oct. 2, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 1,321 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 1988 SW1:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 5.144 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.0996
  • Inclination: 16.93°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 32.12°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 218.66°
  • Mean Anomaly: 81.22°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 23.78500 km
  • Magnitude: 11.87
  • Albedo: 0.072

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 4,260 days (11.66 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 13.14 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 5.66 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 4.63 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 17421 (1988 SW1) 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.