Hermes

69230 Hermes (1937 UB)

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » Hermes

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Will pass within 4,218,233 km of Earth in 2040
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

Hermes is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified Hermes as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

Hermes orbits the sun every 778 days (2.13 years), coming as close as 0.62 AU and reaching as far as 2.69 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, Hermes is probably between 0.774 to 1.730 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

The rotation of Hermes has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 13.89 hours.

Close Approaches

Hermes's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

Hermes has 9 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 25, 2040 4,218,233 17.512
April 28, 2057 3,957,545 19.065
Oct. 27, 2069 12,864,934 20.804
May 6, 2074 23,077,385 22.802
Oct. 31, 2086 3,649,739 18.964
May 8, 2091 29,396,705 24.028
Oct. 31, 2103 6,478,963 19.561
May 7, 2108 22,945,567 22.784
April 29, 2123 1,507,132 18.402

Images and Observations

Hermes's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 25, 1937. It was last officially observed on June 21, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,616 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 Hermes:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.655 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6237
  • Inclination: 6.07°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 34.06°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 92.9°
  • Mean Anomaly: 94.2°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.999 km
  • Magnitude: 17.68

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 778 days (2.13 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.14 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.69 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.62 AU
  • Rotation Period: 13.89 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of Hermes 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 Hermes 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.