Pygmalion

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Amor-class Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the island of Manhattan (3.61 km diameter)
• Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

Pygmalion is a mid-sized asteroid whose orbit approaches the orbit of Earth but does not cross it. NASA JPL has classified Pygmalion as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.

Pygmalion orbits the sun every 897 days (2.46 years), coming as close as 1.26 AU and reaching as far as 2.38 AU from the sun. Pygmalion is about 3.6 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the island of Manhattan.

No Close Approaches

Pygmalion's orbit is 0.33 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a 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

Pygmalion's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 19, 1986. It was last officially observed on Aug. 8, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 1,240 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 Pygmalion:

• 3309 Brorfelde (1982 BH)
• 4055 Magellan (1985 DO2)
• 5641 McCleese (1990 DJ)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of Pygmalion 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 Pygmalion 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.