Regiomontanus

9307 Regiomontanus (1987 QS)

Space Reference » Main-belt Asteroids » Regiomontanus

Key Facts

Overview

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

Regiomontanus orbits the sun every 1,310 days (3.59 years), coming as close as 2.01 AU and reaching as far as 2.68 AU from the sun. Regiomontanus is about 2.9 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to Mount Everest.

No Close Approaches

Regiomontanus's orbit is 1.00 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

Regiomontanus's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 24, 1955. It was last officially observed on July 1, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,473 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 Regiomontanus:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.347 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1434
  • Inclination: 6.58°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 321.65°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 8.29°
  • Mean Anomaly: 20.57°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 2.90800 km
  • Magnitude: 14.63
  • Albedo: 0.525

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,310 days (3.59 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 19.49 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.68 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.01 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of Regiomontanus 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 Regiomontanus 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.