Key Facts

Overview

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

Tucson orbits the sun every 1,790 days (4.90 years), coming as close as 2.75 AU and reaching as far as 3.01 AU from the sun. Tucson is about 22.7 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Indianapolis.

The rotation of Tucson has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 27.01 hours.

No Close Approaches

Tucson's orbit is 1.74 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

Tucson's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 8, 1951. It was last officially observed on July 2, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 4,146 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 Tucson:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.88 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.044
  • Inclination: 2.67°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 51.21°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 245.52°
  • Mean Anomaly: 20.78°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 22.73000 km
  • Magnitude: 12.07
  • Albedo: 0.1242

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,790 days (4.90 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 17.50 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.01 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.75 AU
  • Rotation Period: 27.01 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Tucson 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.