Gary

4735 Gary (1983 AN)

Space Reference » Main-belt Asteroids » Gary

Key Facts

Overview

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

Gary orbits the sun every 1,360 days (3.72 years), coming as close as 2.12 AU and reaching as far as 2.69 AU from the sun. Gary is about 5.1 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

No Close Approaches

Gary's orbit is 1.13 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

Gary's orbit is determined by observations dating back to May 10, 1950. It was last officially observed on Dec. 24, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,380 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 Gary:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.406 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1193
  • Inclination: 7.25°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 88.3°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 351.0°
  • Mean Anomaly: 350.81°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 5.11900 km
  • Magnitude: 12.92
  • Albedo: 0.406

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,360 days (3.72 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 19.25 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.69 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.12 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of Gary 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 Gary 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.