Senta

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the city of Houston (37.43 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

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

Senta orbits the sun every 1,520 days (4.16 years), coming as close as 2.01 AU and reaching as far as 3.16 AU from the sun. Senta is about 37.4 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Houston.

The rotation of Senta has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 20.56 hours.

No Close Approaches

Senta's orbit is 1.01 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

Senta's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 20, 1900. It was last officially observed on July 4, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 5,067 observations used to determine its orbit.

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

View asteroid Senta 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 Senta:

• 14 Irene (A851 KA)
• 32 Pomona (A854 UA)
• 56 Melete (A857 RB)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Senta 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.