Olmstead

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Mars-crossing Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay (5.52 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

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

Olmstead orbits the sun every 1,330 days (3.64 years), coming as close as 1.65 AU and reaching as far as 3.08 AU from the sun. Olmstead is about 5.5 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

The rotation of Olmstead has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 4.96 hours.

Olmstead's spectral type None (Tholen) / L (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain magnesium silicate, iron silicate, and aluminum.

No Close Approaches

Olmstead's orbit is 0.69 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

Olmstead's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 9, 1981. It was last officially observed on March 3, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,623 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 Olmstead:

• 4 Vesta (A807 FA)
• 30 Urania (A854 OA)
• 51 Nemausa (A858 BA)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Olmstead 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 Olmstead 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.