6297 (1988 VZ1)

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the city of Philadelphia (16.33 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

6297 (1988 VZ1) is a large asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter in the main portion of the asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified 1988 VZ1 as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

1988 VZ1 orbits the sun every 2,040 days (5.59 years), coming as close as 2.74 AU and reaching as far as 3.55 AU from the sun. 1988 VZ1 is about 16.3 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Philadelphia.

The rotation of 1988 VZ1 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 4.44 hours.

No Close Approaches

1988 VZ1's orbit is 1.75 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

1988 VZ1's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 25, 1955. It was last officially observed on April 17, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,337 observations used to determine its orbit.

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

View asteroid 6297 (1988 VZ1) 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 1988 VZ1:

• 10 Hygiea (A849 GA)
• 24 Themis (A853 GA)
• 57 Mnemosyne (A859 SA)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 6297 (1988 VZ1) 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.