Daphne

41 Daphne (A856 KA)

Space Reference » Main-belt Asteroids » Daphne

Key Facts

Overview

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

Daphne orbits the sun every 1,680 days (4.60 years), coming as close as 2.01 AU and reaching as far as 3.52 AU from the sun. Daphne is about 205.5 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. state of Maryland.

The rotation of Daphne has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 5.99 hours.

Daphne's spectral type C (Tholen) / Ch (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain water, iron, nickel, cobalt, nitrogen, and ammonia.

No Close Approaches

Daphne's orbit is 1.03 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

Daphne's orbit is determined by observations dating back to July 13, 1866. It was last officially observed on July 4, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 6,415 observations used to determine its orbit.

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

View asteroid Daphne 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 Daphne:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.763 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.274
  • Inclination: 15.78°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 178.06°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 46.11°
  • Mean Anomaly: 117.82°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 205.49500 km
  • Magnitude: 7.67
  • Albedo: 0.059
  • Spectral type (Tholen): C
  • Spectral type (SMASS): Ch

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,680 days (4.60 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 17.89 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.52 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.01 AU
  • Rotation Period: 5.99 hours
  • Approx. Composition: water, iron, nickel, cobalt, nitrogen, and ammonia.

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of Daphne 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.