Begonia

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the U.S. state of Rhode Island (70.57 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

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

Begonia orbits the sun every 2,010 days (5.50 years), coming as close as 2.45 AU and reaching as far as 3.78 AU from the sun. Begonia is about 70.6 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. state of Rhode Island.

The rotation of Begonia has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 15.66 hours.

No Close Approaches

Begonia's orbit is 1.46 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

Begonia's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 21, 1920. It was last officially observed on June 21, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,859 observations used to determine its orbit.

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

View asteroid Begonia 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 Begonia:

• 48 Doris (A857 SA)
• 120 Lachesis (A872 GB)
• 137 Meliboea (A874 HA)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Begonia 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.