Taurinensis

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Mars-crossing Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the city of Indianapolis (23.09 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

Taurinensis is a large asteroid with an orbit that crosses the orbit of Mars. NASA JPL has not classified Taurinensis as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

Taurinensis orbits the sun every 1,180 days (3.23 years), coming as close as 1.63 AU and reaching as far as 2.75 AU from the sun. Taurinensis is about 23.1 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Indianapolis.

The rotation of Taurinensis has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 5.59 hours.

Taurinensis's spectral type S (Tholen) / S (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain and .

No Close Approaches

Taurinensis's orbit is 0.65 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

Taurinensis's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 11, 1909. It was last officially observed on July 2, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 12,712 observations used to determine its orbit.

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

View asteroid Taurinensis 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 Taurinensis:

• 254 Augusta (A886 FA)
• 270 Anahita (A887 TA)
• 281 Lucretia (A888 UC)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Taurinensis 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.