Bidelman

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Outer Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

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

Bidelman orbits the sun every 2,230 days (6.11 years), coming as close as 2.87 AU and reaching as far as 3.82 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, Bidelman is probably between 4.042 to 9.037 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

No Close Approaches

Bidelman'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

Bidelman's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 28, 1992. It was last officially observed on June 18, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 1,698 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 Bidelman:

• 401 Ottilia (A895 FA)
• 1177 Gonnessia (1930 WA)
• 2891 McGetchin (1980 MD)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Bidelman 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 Bidelman 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.