Stirling

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the island of Manhattan (4.33 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

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

Stirling orbits the sun every 1,620 days (4.44 years), coming as close as 2.30 AU and reaching as far as 3.10 AU from the sun. Stirling is about 4.3 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the island of Manhattan.

No Close Approaches

Stirling's orbit is 1.32 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

Stirling's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 7, 1996. It was last officially observed on Sept. 3, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,152 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 Stirling:

• 58 Concordia (A860 FA)
• 103 Hera (A868 RA)
• 109 Felicitas (A869 TA)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Stirling 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 Stirling 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.