Key Facts

Overview

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

Nuki orbits the sun every 1,710 days (4.68 years), coming as close as 2.41 AU and reaching as far as 3.20 AU from the sun. Nuki is about 11.1 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Boston.

The rotation of Nuki has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 11.60 hours.

Nuki's spectral type None (Tholen) / S (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain and .

No Close Approaches

Nuki's orbit is 1.43 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

Nuki's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 10, 1961. It was last officially observed on Feb. 19, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 4,085 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 Nuki:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.802 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1413
  • Inclination: 8.52°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 193.1°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 237.23°
  • Mean Anomaly: 24.22°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 11.06400 km
  • Magnitude: 12.01
  • Albedo: 0.251
  • Spectral type (SMASS): S

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,710 days (4.68 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 17.83 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.20 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.41 AU
  • Rotation Period: 11.60 hours
  • Approx. Composition: and .

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Nuki 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.