Kenos

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Mars-crossing Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

Kenos is a mid-sized asteroid with an orbit that crosses the orbit of Mars. NASA JPL has not classified Kenos as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

Kenos orbits the sun every 963 days (2.64 years), coming as close as 1.59 AU and reaching as far as 2.23 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, Kenos is probably between 4.252 to 9.507 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

The rotation of Kenos has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 3.85 hours.

Kenos's spectral type E (Tholen) / None (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain iron, nickel, and cobalt.

No Close Approaches

Kenos's orbit is 0.71 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

Kenos's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 8, 1978. It was last officially observed on July 4, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,136 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 Kenos:

• 1019 Strackea (A924 ES)
• 1221 Amor (1932 EA1)
• 1235 Schorria (1931 UJ)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Kenos 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 Kenos 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.