Nakanohoshinokai

73827 Nakanohoshinokai (1996 AB3)

Space Reference » Main-belt Asteroids » Nakanohoshinokai

Key Facts

Overview

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

Nakanohoshinokai orbits the sun every 1,590 days (4.35 years), coming as close as 2.31 AU and reaching as far as 3.02 AU from the sun. Nakanohoshinokai is about 3.8 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the island of Manhattan.

No Close Approaches

Nakanohoshinokai's orbit is 1.31 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

Nakanohoshinokai's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 5, 1994. It was last officially observed on March 28, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 668 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 Nakanohoshinokai:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.664 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.134
  • Inclination: 3.18°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 86.8°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 91.33°
  • Mean Anomaly: 86.71°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 3.75600 km
  • Magnitude: 16.32
  • Albedo: 0.041

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,590 days (4.35 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 18.23 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.02 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.31 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of Nakanohoshinokai 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 Nakanohoshinokai 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.