Talos

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the U.S. Pentagon
• Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

Talos is a mid-sized asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified Talos 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.

Talos orbits the sun every 411 days (1.13 years), coming as close as 0.19 AU and reaching as far as 1.97 AU from the sun. Its orbit is highly elliptical. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, Talos is probably between 0.956 to 2.138 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the U.S. Pentagon.

The rotation of Talos has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 23.60 hours.

No Close Approaches

Talos's orbit is 0.19 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.

Orbital simulations conducted by NASA JPL's CNEOS do not show any close approaches to Earth.

Images and Observations

Talos's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 3, 1991. It was last officially observed on Nov. 8, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 1,100 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 Talos:

• 1566 Icarus (1949 MA)
• 1865 Cerberus (1971 UA)
• 2063 Bacchus (1977 HB)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Talos 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 Talos 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.