Pele

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Amor-class Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the U.S. Pentagon
• Will pass within 21,719,631 km of Earth in 2083
• Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

Pele is a mid-sized asteroid whose orbit approaches the orbit of Earth but does not cross it. NASA JPL has classified Pele as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.

Pele orbits the sun every 1,270 days (3.48 years), coming as close as 1.12 AU and reaching as far as 3.47 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, Pele is probably between 0.992 to 2.218 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the U.S. Pentagon.

Close Approaches

Pele's orbit is 0.14 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

Pele has 2 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Images and Observations

Pele's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 7, 1972. It was last officially observed on March 30, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 324 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 Pele:

• 18 Melpomene (A852 MA)
• 80 Sappho (A864 JA)
• 136 Austria (A874 FA)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Pele 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 Pele 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.