Key Facts

Overview

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

Nansenia orbits the sun every 1,290 days (3.53 years), coming as close as 2.07 AU and reaching as far as 2.56 AU from the sun. Nansenia is about 27.6 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Indianapolis.

The rotation of Nansenia has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 7.93 hours.

Nansenia's spectral type XD (Tholen) / Ch (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain water, iron, nickel, cobalt, nitrogen, and ammonia.

No Close Approaches

Nansenia's orbit is 1.07 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

Nansenia's orbit is determined by observations dating back to July 11, 1920. It was last officially observed on Dec. 25, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 6,971 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 Nansenia:

References

Search

   or view a random object

Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.314 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1055
  • Inclination: 9.21°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 182.82°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 60.44°
  • Mean Anomaly: 164.95°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 27.59300 km
  • Magnitude: 11.64
  • Albedo: 0.051
  • Spectral type (Tholen): XD
  • Spectral type (SMASS): Ch

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,290 days (3.53 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 19.51 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.56 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.07 AU
  • Rotation Period: 7.93 hours
  • Approx. Composition: water, iron, nickel, cobalt, nitrogen, and ammonia.

Map Comparison

Click to load map

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Nansenia 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.