Wolpert

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the city of Boston (10.26 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

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

Wolpert orbits the sun every 2,010 days (5.50 years), coming as close as 2.58 AU and reaching as far as 3.66 AU from the sun. Wolpert is about 10.3 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Boston.

The rotation of Wolpert has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 87.85 hours.

No Close Approaches

Wolpert's orbit is 1.59 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

Wolpert's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 6, 1972. It was last officially observed on May 12, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,194 observations used to determine its orbit.

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

View asteroid Wolpert 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 Wolpert:

• 48 Doris (A857 SA)
• 120 Lachesis (A872 GB)
• 130 Elektra (A873 DA)

References

• JPL Small Body Database
• Mission Design
• Sky Finder Chart

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Wolpert 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.