Freia

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Outer Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the U.S. state of Connecticut (145.42 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

Freia is a large asteroid that orbits between Mars and Jupiter in the outer reaches of the main asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified Freia as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

Freia orbits the sun every 2,300 days (6.30 years), coming as close as 2.84 AU and reaching as far as 3.98 AU from the sun. Freia is about 145.4 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. state of Connecticut.

The rotation of Freia has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 9.97 hours.

Freia's spectral type P (Tholen) / X (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain iron, nickel, and cobalt.

No Close Approaches

Freia's orbit is 1.86 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

Freia's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 6, 1864. It was last officially observed on July 5, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 5,764 observations used to determine its orbit.

Scientists have been able to determine this object's shape:

View asteroid Freia in 3D.

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 Freia:

• 229 Adelinda (A882 QB)
• 319 Leona (A891 TA)
• 790 Pretoria (A912 BE)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Freia 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.