Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Jupiter Trojan
  • Comparable in size to the city of Houston (37.55 km diameter)
  • Not a Near Earth Object
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

Laomedon is a large asteroid that shares Jupiter's orbit around the sun. NASA JPL has not classified Laomedon as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

Laomedon orbits the sun every 4,310 days (11.80 years), coming as close as 4.65 AU and reaching as far as 5.71 AU from the sun. Laomedon is about 37.5 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Houston.

No Close Approaches

Laomedon's orbit is 3.69 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

Laomedon's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 31, 1953. It was last officially observed on June 21, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,635 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 Laomedon:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 5.18 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1017
  • Inclination: 19.12°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 195.28°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 59.29°
  • Mean Anomaly: 77.71°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 37.54900 km
  • Magnitude: 10.66
  • Albedo: 0.087

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 4,310 days (11.80 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 13.08 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 5.71 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 4.65 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Laomedon 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.