Key Facts
- Categorized as a Inner Main-belt Asteroid
- Comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay (6.06 km diameter)
- Not a Near Earth Object
- Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
- See orbit simulation
Overview
Nyctimene is a mid-sized asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter within the inner portion of the asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified Nyctimene as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.
Nyctimene orbits the sun every 967 days (2.65 years), coming as close as 1.80 AU and reaching as far as 2.02 AU from the sun. Nyctimene is about 6.1 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.
The rotation of Nyctimene has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 6.13 hours.
No Close Approaches
Nyctimene's orbit is 0.84 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
Nyctimene's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 6, 1969. It was last officially observed on May 3, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 4,136 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 Nyctimene:References
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or view a random objectOrbital Elements
- Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
- Semi-major axis: 1.913 AU
- Eccentricity: 0.057
- Inclination: 25.33°
- Longitude of Ascending Node: 201.0°
- Argument of Periapsis: 235.67°
- Mean Anomaly: 85.87°
Physical Characteristics
- Diameter: 6.05900 km
- Magnitude: 13.27
- Albedo: 0.220
Derived Characteristics
- Orbit Period: 967 days (2.65 years)
- Avg. Orbit Speed: 21.52 km/s
- Aphelion Distance: 2.02 AU
- Perihelion Distance: 1.80 AU
- Rotation Period: 6.13 hours
Map Comparison
Orbit Simulation
Sky Map
The position of Nyctimene 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 Nyctimene 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.
