7350 (1993 VA)

Mid-sized Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 7350 (1993 VA)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to Mount Everest (1.92 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 19,359,541 km of Earth in 2023
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

7350 (1993 VA) is a mid-sized asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1993 VA 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.

1993 VA orbits the sun every 577 days (1.58 years), coming as close as 0.83 AU and reaching as far as 1.89 AU from the sun. 1993 VA is about 1.9 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to Mount Everest.

The rotation of 1993 VA has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 3.58 hours.

Close Approaches

1993 VA's orbit is 0.08 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.

1993 VA has 14 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Nov. 14, 2023 19,359,541 8.728
Feb. 2, 2035 21,501,054 9.023
March 25, 2046 24,948,459 14.182
Nov. 20, 2053 20,300,919 8.325
Feb. 6, 2065 20,469,584 8.913
March 25, 2076 26,163,554 14.437
Nov. 22, 2083 20,657,431 8.263
Feb. 13, 2095 19,052,331 8.821
Dec. 1, 2113 21,910,458 8.207
Feb. 16, 2125 18,486,441 8.795
Dec. 5, 2143 22,494,879 8.281
Feb. 21, 2155 17,172,715 8.765
Dec. 2, 2173 21,996,827 8.226
Feb. 17, 2185 18,242,876 8.788

Images and Observations

1993 VA's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 15, 1963. It was last officially observed on July 29, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 1,412 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 1993 VA:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.356 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3911
  • Inclination: 7.26°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 133.11°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 336.65°
  • Mean Anomaly: 294.08°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 1.92100 km
  • Magnitude: 17.28
  • Albedo: 0.069

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 577 days (1.58 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 25.57 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.89 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.83 AU
  • Rotation Period: 3.58 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 7350 (1993 VA) 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 1993 VA 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.