6551 (1988 XP)

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

6551 (1988 XP) is a mid-sized asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter in the main portion of the asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified 1988 XP as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

1988 XP orbits the sun every 1,390 days (3.81 years), coming as close as 1.93 AU and reaching as far as 2.95 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 1988 XP is probably between 5.018 to 11.221 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

No Close Approaches

1988 XP's orbit is 0.96 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

1988 XP's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Aug. 15, 1953. It was last officially observed on March 13, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,503 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 1988 XP:

• 19 Fortuna (A852 QA)
• 21 Lutetia (A852 VA)
• 42 Isis (A856 KB)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 6551 (1988 XP) 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 1988 XP 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.