Ptolemaeus

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay (4.64 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

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

Ptolemaeus orbits the sun every 1,260 days (3.45 years), coming as close as 1.89 AU and reaching as far as 2.68 AU from the sun. Ptolemaeus is about 4.6 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

Ptolemaeus's spectral type None (Tholen) / S (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain and .

No Close Approaches

Ptolemaeus's orbit is 0.88 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

Ptolemaeus's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Aug. 2, 1949. It was last officially observed on April 12, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,369 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 Ptolemaeus:

• 18 Melpomene (A852 MA)
• 80 Sappho (A864 JA)
• 136 Austria (A874 FA)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Ptolemaeus 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 Ptolemaeus 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.