Key Facts

Overview

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

Tammy orbits the sun every 1,370 days (3.75 years), coming as close as 1.94 AU and reaching as far as 2.89 AU from the sun. Tammy 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 Tammy has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 11.85 hours.

No Close Approaches

Tammy's orbit is 0.93 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

Tammy's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 3, 1951. It was last officially observed on Feb. 3, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,669 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 Tammy:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.412 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1966
  • Inclination: 4.58°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 204.16°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 95.44°
  • Mean Anomaly: 111.4°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 4.13300 km
  • Magnitude: 13.08
  • Albedo: 0.652

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,370 days (3.75 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 19.15 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.89 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.94 AU
  • Rotation Period: 11.85 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Tammy 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 Tammy 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.