Beowulf

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge (0.64 km diameter)
• Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

Beowulf is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified Beowulf as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.

Beowulf orbits the sun every 618 days (1.69 years), coming as close as 0.62 AU and reaching as far as 2.22 AU from the sun. Beowulf is about 0.6 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids, comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

The rotation of Beowulf has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 2.41 hours.

No Close Approaches

Beowulf's orbit is 0.39 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a 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

Beowulf's orbit is determined by observations dating back to May 1, 1992. It was last officially observed on March 23, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 913 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 Beowulf:

• 3752 Camillo (1985 PA)
• 9202 (1993 PB)
• 39774 (1997 GO27)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Beowulf 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 Beowulf 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.