Silesia

257 Silesia (A886 GB)

Space Reference » Main-belt Asteroids » Silesia

Key Facts

Overview

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

Silesia orbits the sun every 2,010 days (5.50 years), coming as close as 2.77 AU and reaching as far as 3.47 AU from the sun. Silesia is about 72.7 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. state of Delaware.

The rotation of Silesia has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 15.71 hours.

Silesia's spectral type SCTU (Tholen) / Ch (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain water, iron, nickel, cobalt, nitrogen, and ammonia.

No Close Approaches

Silesia's orbit is 1.78 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

Silesia's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 6, 1886. It was last officially observed on July 4, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 8,773 observations used to determine its orbit.

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

View asteroid Silesia 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 Silesia:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 3.12 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1123
  • Inclination: 3.61°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 34.05°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 31.89°
  • Mean Anomaly: 131.09°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 72.66000 km
  • Magnitude: 9.76
  • Albedo: 0.0545
  • Spectral type (Tholen): SCTU
  • Spectral type (SMASS): Ch

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 2,010 days (5.50 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 16.89 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.47 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.77 AU
  • Rotation Period: 15.71 hours
  • Approx. Composition: water, iron, nickel, cobalt, nitrogen, and ammonia.

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of Silesia 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.