Key Facts
- Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
- Comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay (4.84 km diameter)
- Will pass within 25,053,013 km of Earth in 2034
- Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
- Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
- See orbit simulation
Overview
Heracles is a mid-sized asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified Heracles as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.
Heracles orbits the sun every 908 days (2.49 years), coming as close as 0.42 AU and reaching as far as 3.25 AU from the sun. Its orbit is highly elliptical. Heracles is about 4.8 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.
The rotation of Heracles has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 2.71 hours.
Heracles's spectral type None (Tholen) / O (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain and .
Close Approaches
Heracles's orbit is 0.06 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.
Heracles has 8 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:
| Date | Distance from Earth (km) | Velocity (km/s) |
|---|---|---|
| July 18, 2034 | 25,053,013 | 30.287 |
| July 10, 2039 | 8,639,178 | 25.297 |
| July 1, 2044 | 28,534,501 | 20.369 |
| Dec. 4, 2093 | 19,135,869 | 24.862 |
| July 11, 2116 | 7,647,777 | 25.066 |
| Nov. 30, 2170 | 20,491,820 | 27.878 |
| July 16, 2188 | 10,869,463 | 27.559 |
| July 8, 2193 | 16,431,301 | 22.643 |
Images and Observations
Heracles's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 30, 1953. It was last officially observed on July 29, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,809 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 Heracles:References
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or view a random objectOrbital Elements
- Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
- Semi-major axis: 1.835 AU
- Eccentricity: 0.7713
- Inclination: 8.98°
- Longitude of Ascending Node: 309.19°
- Argument of Periapsis: 228.14°
- Mean Anomaly: 246.94°
Physical Characteristics
- Diameter: 4.84300 km
- Magnitude: 14.1
- Albedo: 0.227
- Spectral type (SMASS): O
Derived Characteristics
- Orbit Period: 908 days (2.49 years)
- Avg. Orbit Speed: 21.99 km/s
- Aphelion Distance: 3.25 AU
- Perihelion Distance: 0.42 AU
- Rotation Period: 2.71 hours
- Approx. Composition: and .
Map Comparison
Orbit Simulation
Sky Map
The position of Heracles 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 Heracles 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.
