Bononia

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Outer Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the U.S. state of New Jersey (154.33 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

Bononia is a large asteroid that orbits between Mars and Jupiter in the outer reaches of the main asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified Bononia as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

Bononia orbits the sun every 2,890 days (7.91 years), coming as close as 3.14 AU and reaching as far as 4.81 AU from the sun. Bononia is about 154.3 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. state of New Jersey.

The rotation of Bononia has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 13.84 hours.

No Close Approaches

Bononia's orbit is 2.18 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

Bononia's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 12, 1893. It was last officially observed on July 4, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,465 observations used to determine its orbit.

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

View asteroid Bononia 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 Bononia:

• 153 Hilda (A875 VC)
• 1038 Tuckia (A924 WO)
• 1180 Rita (1931 GE)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Bononia 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.