Hirado

22277 Hirado (1982 VK4)

Space Reference » Main-belt Asteroids » Hirado

Key Facts

Overview

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

Hirado orbits the sun every 1,530 days (4.19 years), coming as close as 2.16 AU and reaching as far as 3.04 AU from the sun. Hirado is about 4.1 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the island of Manhattan.

The rotation of Hirado has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 92.04 hours.

No Close Approaches

Hirado's orbit is 1.19 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

Hirado's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 14, 1982. It was last officially observed on June 14, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,538 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 Hirado:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.6 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1702
  • Inclination: 13.06°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 60.96°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 290.29°
  • Mean Anomaly: 310.58°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 4.08600 km
  • Magnitude: 14.34
  • Albedo: 0.384

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,530 days (4.19 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 18.49 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.04 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.16 AU
  • Rotation Period: 92.04 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of Hirado 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 Hirado 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.