Hawking

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to Mount Everest (2.01 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

Hawking is a mid-sized asteroid circling the sun between Mars and Jupiter, inside the main asteroid belt. NASA JPL does not treat Hawking as potentially hazardous, because its orbit never carries it near Earth.

One lap around the sun takes Hawking 1,230 days (3.37 years). Over that circuit it swings between 2.09 AU and 2.41 AU from the sun, travelling at an average of 19.92 km/s. At 2.0 kilometers across, Hawking is bigger than 99% of known asteroids — roughly the size of Mount Everest.

No Close Approaches

At their nearest, the orbits of Hawking and Earth stay 1.1 AU apart. That is a comfortable margin, and it holds at every point in the orbit.

Orbital simulations run by NASA JPL's CNEOS turn up no close approaches to Earth.

Images and Observations

The orbit of Hawking is pinned down by sightings going back to Oct. 27, 1978, the most recent officially logged on March 13, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center holds 2,563 observations behind that solution.

Accessibility and Exploration

The NHATS study does not rate Hawking as a realistic destination for a crewed mission.

Similar Objects

These objects follow orbits with much the same shape and tilt as Hawking:

• 4 Vesta (A807 FA)
• 8 Flora (A847 UA)
• 9 Metis (A848 HA)

References

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

Size Rendering

An artistic impression, scaling Hawking against the New York skyline from its measured diameter. The shape, colour and texture of the asteroid are invented; only the size is real. Built for full-size desktop browsers.

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

A ◯ pink circle marks where Hawking sits. It may fall outside your current field of view — use the controls below to change the position, location and time.