Lutetia

21 Lutetia (A852 VA)

Space Reference » Main-belt Asteroids » Lutetia

Key Facts

Overview

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

Lutetia orbits the sun every 1,390 days (3.81 years), coming as close as 2.04 AU and reaching as far as 2.84 AU from the sun. Lutetia is about 95.8 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. state of Delaware.

The rotation of Lutetia has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 8.17 hours.

Lutetia's spectral type M (Tholen) / Xk (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain iron, nickel, and cobalt.

No Close Approaches

Lutetia's orbit is 1.03 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

Lutetia's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 6, 1866. It was last officially observed on June 23, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 5,648 observations used to determine its orbit.

Scientists have been able to determine this object's shape:

View asteroid Lutetia in 3D.

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 Lutetia:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.436 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.164
  • Inclination: 3.06°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 80.84°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 250.3°
  • Mean Anomaly: 38.89°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 95.76000 km
  • Magnitude: 7.52
  • Albedo: 0.2212
  • Spectral type (Tholen): M
  • Spectral type (SMASS): Xk

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,390 days (3.81 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 19.07 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.84 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.04 AU
  • Rotation Period: 8.17 hours
  • Approx. Composition: iron, nickel, and cobalt.

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of Lutetia 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.