Sphinx

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the city of Cleveland, Ohio (11.97 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

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

Sphinx orbits the sun every 1,260 days (3.45 years), coming as close as 1.91 AU and reaching as far as 2.66 AU from the sun. Sphinx is about 12.0 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Cleveland, Ohio.

The rotation of Sphinx has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 21.04 hours.

No Close Approaches

Sphinx's orbit is 0.89 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a very 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

Sphinx's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Aug. 1, 1918. It was last officially observed on Feb. 19, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 6,392 observations used to determine its orbit.

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

View asteroid Sphinx 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 Sphinx:

• 136 Austria (A874 FA)
• 207 Hedda (A879 UA)
• 317 Roxane (A891 RD)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Sphinx 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.