38553 (1999 VU68)

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Outer Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

38553 (1999 VU68) is a mid-sized asteroid that orbits between Mars and Jupiter in the outer reaches of the main asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified 1999 VU68 as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

1999 VU68 orbits the sun every 2,840 days (7.78 years), coming as close as 2.94 AU and reaching as far as 4.91 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 1999 VU68 is probably between 3.878 to 8.670 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

No Close Approaches

1999 VU68's orbit is 1.94 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

1999 VU68's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 19, 1994. It was last officially observed on Jan. 13, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 1,363 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 1999 VU68:

• 1162 Larissa (1930 AC)
• 1578 Kirkwood (1951 AT)
• 3202 Graff (A908 AA)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 38553 (1999 VU68) 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 1999 VU68 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.