Key Facts
- Categorized as a Inner Main-belt Asteroid
- Comparable in size to the island of Manhattan (3.77 km diameter)
- Not a Near Earth Object
- Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
- See orbit simulation
Overview
Smither is a mid-sized asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter within the inner portion of the asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified Smither as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.
Smither orbits the sun every 936 days (2.56 years), coming as close as 1.78 AU and reaching as far as 1.97 AU from the sun. Smither is about 3.8 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the island of Manhattan.
The rotation of Smither has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 2.67 hours.
No Close Approaches
Smither's orbit is 0.81 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a very 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
Smither's orbit is determined by observations dating back to July 25, 1952. It was last officially observed on July 5, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,530 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 Smither:References
Search
or view a random objectOrbital Elements
- Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
- Semi-major axis: 1.872 AU
- Eccentricity: 0.0513
- Inclination: 18.45°
- Longitude of Ascending Node: 259.14°
- Argument of Periapsis: 229.18°
- Mean Anomaly: 99.8°
Physical Characteristics
- Diameter: 3.76700 km
- Magnitude: 13.2
- Albedo: 0.613
- Spectral type (Tholen): X
Derived Characteristics
- Orbit Period: 936 days (2.56 years)
- Avg. Orbit Speed: 21.76 km/s
- Aphelion Distance: 1.97 AU
- Perihelion Distance: 1.78 AU
- Rotation Period: 2.67 hours
Map Comparison
Orbit Simulation
Sky Map
The position of Smither 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 Smither 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.
