Asteroids

4179 Toutatis help

Last update: 2025-09-10 00:30 UTC

Orbital Properties

Epoch

61000.0

MJD

Orbit type

Apollo

Perihelion (q)

0.954

Aphelion (Q)

4.132

Eccentricity (e)

0.625

Inclination (i)

0.4

deg

Orbit period (P)

1481.2

Earth MOID

0.00651

U parameter

0.0

A₂

-6.0

10^-15au/days²

Next Earth close approach

Date

2069-11-05

Nominal distance (from Earth center)

0.01985

2969324

Maximum Brightness

16.8

mag

Risk

Object is not in risk list

Physical Properties

Absolute Magnitude (H)

15.3

mag

Diameter

2640

Taxonomic type

Rotation period (T)

176

Discovery Information

Discovery Date

1989-01-04

Observatory

Caussols

ORBIT VISUALISATION TOOLS

External links

Proper elements

Epoch

Near present day

Near middle of observation arc

Orbit properties

Epoch
Semimajor Axis
Eccentricity (e)
Inclination (i)
Long. of Ascending Node (Ω)
Arg. of Perihelion (ω)
Mean Anomaly (M)
Perihelion distance
Aphelion distance
Asc. Node-Earth Sep.
Desc. Node-Earth Sep.
MOID
Orbit Period
U parameter

Value

1-sigma variation

Unit

Epoch

Value

61000.0000

1-sigma variation

Unit

MJD

Semimajor Axis

Value

2.543030

1-sigma variation

5.336E-10

Unit

Eccentricity (e)

Value

0.624740

1-sigma variation

1.275E-9

Unit

Inclination (i)

Value

0.4481

1-sigma variation

1.620E-7

Unit

Long. of Ascending Node (Ω)

Value

125.3654

1-sigma variation

2.019E-5

Unit

Arg. of Perihelion (ω)

Value

277.8613

1-sigma variation

1.972E-5

Unit

Mean Anomaly (M)

Value

76.89344

1-sigma variation

2.899E-7

Unit

Perihelion distance

Value

0.954297

1-sigma variation

Unit

Aphelion distance

Value

4.131763

1-sigma variation

Unit

Asc. Node-Earth Sep.

Value

0.439292

1-sigma variation

Unit

Desc. Node-Earth Sep.

Value

0.684618

1-sigma variation

Unit

MOID

Value

0.006515

1-sigma variation

Unit

Orbit Period

Value

1481.2406

1-sigma variation

Unit

U parameter

Value

0.0

1-sigma variation

Unit

A₂

Value

-5.95466

1-sigma variation

0.69771

Unit

10^-15au/days²

Covariance Matrix

	a	e	i	Ω	ω	M	A₂
a	2.84775E-19	-6.31941E-19	7.29328E-17	7.75149E-15	-7.45791E-15	-1.53842E-16	3.67273E-10
e	-6.31941E-19	1.62472E-18	-1.98820E-16	-2.28530E-14	2.21387E-14	3.41304E-16	-8.49499E-10
i	7.29328E-17	-1.98820E-16	2.62502E-14	3.19817E-12	-3.11210E-12	-3.92584E-14	1.00003E-7
Ω	7.75149E-15	-2.28530E-14	3.19817E-12	4.07666E-10	-3.98025E-10	-4.14519E-12	1.09580E-5
ω	-7.45791E-15	2.21387E-14	-3.11210E-12	-3.98025E-10	3.88712E-10	3.98418E-12	-1.05730E-5
M	-1.53842E-16	3.41304E-16	-3.92584E-14	-4.14519E-12	3.98418E-12	8.40449E-14	-1.96670E-7
A₂	3.67273E-10	-8.49499E-10	1.00003E-7	1.09580E-5	-1.05730E-5	-1.96670E-7	4.86804E-1

Date of computation: 2025-09-10 00:30 UTC

Note: The ASCII file is in a format suitable for Orbfit input.

Download ASCII file:

Physical properties

Rotation Period
Quality
Amplitude
Rotation Direction
Spinvector L
Spinvector B

Rotational properties

Value

Unit

Source

Rotation Period

Value

176

Unit

Source

[7]

Quality

Value

3,T

Unit

Source

[7]

Amplitude

Value

1.2

Unit

mag

Source

[7]

Rotation Direction

Value

Unit

Source

[-]

Spinvector L

Value

180

Unit

Source

[1]

Spinvector B

Value

-55

Unit

Source

[1]

Taxonomy
Taxonomy (all)

Taxonomy

Value

Unit

Source

Taxonomy

Value

Unit

Source

[2]

[3]

[4]

Taxonomy (all)

Value

S;Sk,Sq

Unit

Source

[5]

[6]

Absolute Magnitude (H)
Slope Parameter (G)

H / G

Value

Unit

Source

Absolute Magnitude (H)

Value

15.3

15.269

Unit

mag

Source

[8]

[9]

Slope Parameter (G)

Value

0.15**

0.1

Unit

mag

Source

[9]

[10]

Albedo
Diameter

Size and albedo

Value

Unit

Source

Albedo

Value

0.254

0.4055

Unit

Source

[11]

[13]

Diameter

Value

2640

Unit

Source

[11]

Color Index Information

Color Index Information

Value

Unit

Source

Color Index Information

Value

0.5

0.831

0.465

0.364

Unit

U-B

B-V

V-R

R-I

Source

[14]

[15]

Sightings

Sightings

Value

Unit

Source

Sightings

Value

Radar R

Visual S

Unit

Source

[16]

[17]

Satellites

Satellites

Value

Unit

Source

Satellites

Value

Binary Child 1

Unit

Source

[5]

Download this part as:

Sources

No.	Name	Additional
[1]	EARN	1.) Zhao, Y. et al. (2015) MNRAS 450, 3620-3632. (Orientation and Rotational Parameters of Asteroid 4179 Toutatis: New Insights from Chang'e-2's Close Flyby)
[2]	EARN	1.) Michaël Marsset et al 2022 AJ 163 165
[3]	EARN	1.) Alexey V. Sergeyev and Benoit Carry A&A, 652 (2021) A59
[4]	EARN	1.) DeMeo, F.E. et al. (2014) Icarus 227, 112-122. (Mars encounters cause fresh surfaces on some near-Earth asteroids) (contains taxonomic classification of 249 NEAs)
[5]	EARN	Earth Asteroids Research Node: https://earn.dlr.de
[6]	EARN	1.) Lupishko, D.F. et al. (1995) Icarus 113, 200-205. (UBVRI-polarimetry of asteroid 4179 Toutatis) 2.) Howell, E.S. et al. (1994) Icarus 111, 468-474. (Visible and near-infrared spectral observations of 4179 Toutatis) 3.) Bus, S.J. & Binzel, R.P. (2002) Icarus 158,106-145. (Phase II of the Small Main-Belt Asteroid Spectrographic Survey: A Feature-Based Taxonomy.) 4.) Binzel, R.P. et al. (2004) Icarus 170, 259-294. (Observed spectral properties of near-Earth objects: results for population distribution, source regions, and space weathering processes.) 5.) Davies, J.K. et al. (2007) Icarus 186,111-125. (Near-infrared spectra of 12 near-Earth objects) (1627,4179, 5381,5587,6489,11405,14402,25143,25330,52760,66391,101955) 6.) Godunova, V. et al. (2013) EGU2013-13797-1 (Abstract) (Spectrophotometric studies of near-Earth asteroids at the Terskol Observatory) (2007PA8,2012QG42,4179) 7.) DeMeo, F.E. et al. (2014) Icarus 227, 112-122. (Mars encounters cause fresh surfaces on some near-Earth asteroids) (contains taxonomic classification of 249 NEAs)
[7]	EARN	1.) Pravec, P. et al. (2005) Icarus 173, 108-131. (Tumbling asteroids) 2.) Spencer, J.R. et al. (1995) Icarus 117, 71-89. (The lightcurve of 4179 Toutatis: Evidence for complex rotation.) 3.) Spencer, J.R. et al. (1996) Icarus 119, 450. (Erratum: "The Lightcurve of 4179 Toutatis: Evidence for Complex Rotation, ") 4.) Hudson, R.S. & S.J. Ostro (1995) Science 270, 84-86. (Shape and Non-Principal Axis Spin State of Asteroid 4179 Toutatis) 5.) Kryszczynska, A. et al., (1999) Astron. Astrophys. 345, 643-645. (Relation between rotation and lightcurve of 4179 Toutatis.) 6.) Nakamura, T. & T. Fuse (1998) Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan 50, 531-536. (Asteroid lightcurve observations near stationary points: (4179) Toutatis in 1997 February.) 7.) Mukai, T. et al. (1997) Icarus 127, 452-460. (Polarimetric Observations of 4179 Toutatis in 1992-1993) 8.) Wisniewski, W.Z. et al. (1997) Icarus 126, 395-449. (Photometric Observations of 125 Asteroids) 9.) Hudson, R.S. & S.J. Ostro (1998) Icarus 135, 451-457. (Photometric Properties of Asteroid 4179 Toutatis from Lightcurves and a Radar-Derived Physical Model) 10.) Krugly, Yu.N. et al. (2002) Icarus 158, 294-304. (The Near-Earth Objects Follow-up Program. IV. CCD Photometry in 1996-1999). 11.) Mueller, B.E.A. et al. (2002) Icarus 158, 305-311. (The diagnosis of complex rotation in the lightcurve of 4179 and...) 12.) Hudson, R. S. et al., (2003) Icarus 161, 346-355. (High-Resolution Model of Asteroid 4179 Toutatis.) 13.) Krugly, Yu. N. et al. (2006) IAU Symp. 236, 385-390. (Kharkiv study of near-Earth asteroids) (1036,1627,1685, 1862,1980,3103,3200,4179,6611,8567,11405,13553,23187,54509, 66251,100085,1999LF6,2004XP14,2005AB,2006CV69,2006BQ6) 14.) Skiff, B.A. et al. (2012) MPB 39, 111-130. (LOWELL OBSERVATORY NEAR-EARTH ASTEROID PHOTOMETRIC SURVEY (NEAPS) - 2008 MAY THROUGH 2008 DECEMBER) (46 NEAs)
[8]	EARN	1.) Pravec, P. et al. (2012) Icarus 221, 365-387 (Absolute magnitudes of asteroids and a revision of asteroid albedo estimates from WISE thermal observations) 2.) Spencer, J.R. et al. (1995) Icarus 117, 71-89. (The lightcurve of 4179 Toutatis: Evidence for complex rotation.) 3.) Spencer, J.R. et al. (1996) Icarus 119, 450. (Erratum: "The Lightcurve of 4179 Toutatis: Evidence for Complex Rotation, ") 4.) Wisniewski, W.Z. et al. (1997) Icarus 126, 395-449. (Photometric Observations of 125 Asteroids)
[9]	ESA Aegis	ESA orbit determination and impact monitoring system
[10]	EARN	1.) Pravec, P. et al. (2012) Icarus 221, 365-387 (Absolute magnitudes of asteroids and a revision of asteroid albedo estimates from WISE thermal observations) 2.) Spencer, J.R. et al. (1995) Icarus 117, 71-89. (The lightcurve of 4179 Toutatis: Evidence for complex rotation.) 3.) Spencer, J.R. et al. (1996) Icarus 119, 450. (Erratum: "The Lightcurve of 4179 Toutatis: Evidence for Complex Rotation, ")
[11]	EARN	1.) Joseph R. Masiero et al 2020 Planet. Sci. J. 1 5
[12]	EARN	1.) Ji, J. et al. (2015) IAUS 318, 144.152. (Chang'e-2 spacecraft observations of asteroid 4179 Toutatis) 2.) Noll, K.S. et al. (1995) Icarus 113, 353-359. (Imaging of Asteroid 4179 Toutatis with Hubble Space Telescope.) 3.) Masiero, J.R. et al. (2018) Astron. J. 154_168(10pp). (NEOWISE Reactivation Mission Year Three: Asteroid Diameters and Albedos) (170NEOs, 6110MBAs)
[13]	EARN	1.) Masiero, J.R. et al. (2018) Astron. J. 154_168(10pp). (NEOWISE Reactivation Mission Year Three: Asteroid Diameters and Albedos) (170NEOs, 6110MBAs) 2.) Lupishko, D.F. et al. (1995) Icarus 113, 200-205. (UBVRI-polarimetry of asteroid 4179 Toutatis)
[14]	EARN	1.) Lupishko, D.F. et al. (1995) Icarus 113, 200-205. (UBVRI-polarimetry of asteroid 4179 Toutatis)
[15]	EARN	1.) Lin, C-H. et al. (2018) P&SS 152, 116-135. (Photometric survey and taxonomic identifications of 92 near-Earth asteroids)
[16]	EARN	1.) De Pater, I. et al. (1994) Icarus 111, 489-502. (Radar aperture synthesis observations of asteroids)1991 EE and 4179 Toutatis 2.) Hudson, R.S. & S.J. Ostro (1996) B.A.A.S 28, 1105. (Asteroid 4179 Toutatis: Potential of 1996 Radar Observations for Spin-State Refinement) 3.) Hudson, R.S. & S.J. Ostro (1997) B.A.A.S 29, 966. (Recent Radar Modeling Results: 1620 Geographos and 4179 Toutatis) 4.) Hudson, R.S. & S.J. Ostro (1998) Icarus 135, 451-457. (Photometric Properties of Asteroid 4179 Toutatis from Lightcurves and a Radar-Derived Physical Model) 5.) Krivova, N.V. et al. (1994) Planetary and Space Science 42, 741-745. (The orbit determination of (4179) Toutatis from optical and radar data) 6.) Ostro, S.J. et al. (1993) B.A.A.S. 25, 1126. (Radar imaging of asteroid 4179 Toutatis) 7.) Ostro, S.J. et al. (1995) Science 270, 80-84. (radar images of asteroid 4179 Toutatis) 8.) Ostro, S.J. et al. (1998) B.A.A.S 30, 1036. (Near-Earth-Asteroid Radar at Goldstone, Aug 1996 - Jun 1998) [7822(1991CS),4197(1982TA),4179Toutatis,7341(1991VK), 7482(1994PC1),1997BR,1998BY7,6037(1988EG),1998KY26] 9.) Ostro, S.J. et al. (1999) Icarus 137, 122-139. (Asteroid 4179 Toutatis: 1996 Radar Observations) 10.) Ostro, S.J. et al. (1991) Astron. J. 102, 1490-1502. (Asteroid radar astrometry) 11.) Hudson, R. S. et al., (2003) Icarus 161, 346-355. (High-Resolution Model of Asteroid 4179 Toutatis.) 12.) Hudson, R.S. et al. (2000) B.A.A.S. 32, 1001. (Recent delay-Doppler radar asteroid modelling results: 1999 RQ36 and craters on toutatis) 13.) Takahashi, Y. et al. (2013) AJ 146, 95. (SPIN STATE AND MOMENT OF INERTIA CHARACTERIZATION OF 4179 TOUTATIS) 14.) Busch, M.W. et al. (2013) DPS 45, 101-05. (abstract) (Goldstone/VLA Radar Observations of Near-Earth Asteroid 4179 Toutatis in 2012) 15.) Howell, E.S. et al (2013) DPS 45, 301-01. (abstract) (Using a Radar Shape Model to Interpret Spectral Observations of near-Earth Asteroid 4179 Toutatis)
[17]	EARN	1.) Lazzarin, M. et al. (1994) Planetary and Space Science 42, 327-336. (CCD reflectance spectra of Apollo Asteroid 4179 Toutatis) 2.) Binzel, R.P. et al. (2004) Icarus 170, 259-294. (Observed spectral properties of near-Earth objects: results for population distribution, source regions, and space weathering processes.) 3.) Davies, J.K. et al. (2007) Icarus 186,111-125. (Near-infrared spectra of 12 near-Earth objects) (1627,4179, 5381,5587,6489,11405,14402,25143,25330,52760,66391,101955) 4.) Binzel, R.P. et al. (2006) LPSC 37, 1491. (The MIT-Hawaii-IRTF joint campaign for NEO spectral reconnaissance.) 5.) Binzel, R.P. et al. href="http://smass.mit.edu/minus.html"> Webpage 6.) deLeon, J. et al. (2010) Astron. Astrophys 517, A23. (Observations, compositional, and physical characterization of near-Earth and Mars-crosser asteroids from a spectroscopic survey) 7.) Sanchez, J.A. et al. (2012) Icarus 220, 36-50. (Phase reddening on near-Earth asteroids: Implications for mineralogical analysis, space weathering and taxonomic classification) (1036,1620,1627,1862,1980,4179,4954,6239, 11398,25143,35107,66146) 8.) Reddy, V. et al. (2012) Icarus 221, 1177-1179. (Composition of Near-Earth Asteroid (4179) Toutatis) 9.) Godunova, V. et al. (2013) EGU2013-13797-1 (Abstract) (Spectrophotometric studies of near-Earth asteroids at the Terskol Observatory) (2007PA8,2012QG42,4179)

Observational Information

Arc Length
Unobserved
Normalized RMS of residuals

Arc Information

Value

Unit

Source

Arc Length

Value

33325

Unit

Source

[1]

Unobserved

Value

162

Unit

Source

[1]

Normalized RMS of residuals

Value

0.375058

Unit

Source

[1]

Astrometry Summary

First Observation
Last Observation
Total Optical Observations (Discarded)

Optical

Value

Unit

Source

First Observation

Value

1934-02-10.0199

Unit

Source

[2]

Last Observation

Value

2025-05-08.263622

Unit

Source

[2]

Total Optical Observations (Discarded)

Value

7127 (22)

Unit

Source

[1]

Radar Summary

First Observation
Last Observation
Delay (Discarded)
Doppler (Discarded)
Total Optical Observations (Discarded)

Radar

Value

Unit

Source

First Observation

Value

1992-11-27

Unit

Source

[3]

Last Observation

Value

2017-01-07

Unit

Source

[3]

Delay (Discarded)

Value

35 (0)

Unit

Source

[1]

Doppler (Discarded)

Value

27 (0)

Unit

Source

[1]

Total Radar Observations (Discarded)

Value

62 (0)

Unit

Source

[1]

Note: The ASCII file is in a format suitable for Orbfit input.

Sources

No.	Name	Additional
[1]	ESA Aegis	ESA orbit determination and impact monitoring system
[2]	MPC	Minor Planet Center: https://www.minorplanetcenter.net
[3]	JPL Radar Observations	Jet Propulsion Laboratory: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/dat/radar_data_ast.txt

Computation parameters

As seen from:

Initial Date: *

Final Date: *

Output option:

One line per time step

Time step:*

* - these fields are required

Close Approaches for 4179 Toutatis from 1950 to 2125

Body	Date in UTC	Time uncert. in min	Nominal distance in au	Min. possible distance in au	Distance uncert. in au
EARTH	1988-12-26 00:04	< 1 s	0.1169297	0.1169297	0.0000000
EARTH	1992-12-08 05:35	< 1 s	0.0241504	0.0241504	0.0000000
EARTH	1996-11-29 22:52	< 1 s	0.0354323	0.0354323	0.0000000
EARTH	2000-10-31 04:27	< 1 s	0.0738648	0.0738648	0.0000000
EARTH	2004-09-29 13:35	< 1 s	0.0103572	0.0103572	0.0000000
EARTH	2008-11-09 12:21	< 1 s	0.0502479	0.0502479	0.0000000
EARTH	2012-12-12 06:39	< 1 s	0.0463320	0.0463320	0.0000000
EARTH	2069-11-05 15:48	< 1 min	0.0198487	0.0198487	0.0000000
88 Thisbe	2105-11-28 22:37	< 1 min	0.0062100	0.0062078	0.0000007

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Stationary Points

Ecc. an. ast.	Ecc. an. Earth	Distance in au	Classification
11.58788643	325.38026335	0.00649936	MINIMUM
346.39051505	274.04079043	0.00733364	MINIMUM
358.92931795	299.61907289	0.03809703	SADDLE
358.92595030	119.62577184	1.96238998	SADDLE
179.75440095	120.68718696	3.12424773	SADDLE
179.75878449	300.69255175	5.12393805	MAXIMUM

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MOID Plots

Click on the images to zoom-in and zoom-out