MacPherson

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the island of Manhattan
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

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

MacPherson orbits the sun every 1,230 days (3.37 years), coming as close as 1.72 AU and reaching as far as 2.78 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, MacPherson is probably between 3.285 to 7.346 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the island of Manhattan.

No Close Approaches

MacPherson's orbit is 0.72 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

MacPherson's orbit is determined by observations dating back to July 12, 1975. It was last officially observed on Oct. 7, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,694 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 MacPherson:

• 336 Lacadiera (A892 SA)
• 525 Adelaide (A908 UJ)
• 574 Reginhild (A905 SH)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of MacPherson 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 MacPherson 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.