Asteroids

5143 Heracles help

Last update: 2026-11-06 13:31 UTC

Orbital Properties

Epoch

61400.0

MJD

Orbit type

Apollo

Perihelion (q)

0.420

Aphelion (Q)

3.250

Eccentricity (e)

0.771

Inclination (i)

9.0

deg

Orbit period (P)

907.6

Earth MOID

0.05766

U parameter

0.0

Next Earth close approach

Date

2034-07-18

Nominal distance (from Earth center)

0.16747

25052661

Maximum Brightness

13.5

mag

Risk

Object is not in risk list

Physical Properties

Absolute Magnitude (H)

14.1

mag

Diameter

3410

Taxonomic type

Rotation period (T)

2.706

Discovery Information

Discovery Date

1991-11-07

Observatory

Palomar Mountain

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

61400.0000

1-sigma variation

Unit

MJD

Semimajor Axis

Value

1.834576

1-sigma variation

2.107E-9

Unit

Eccentricity (e)

Value

0.771278

1-sigma variation

2.209E-8

Unit

Inclination (i)

Value

8.9792

1-sigma variation

2.278E-6

Unit

Long. of Ascending Node (Ω)

Value

309.0911

1-sigma variation

1.862E-5

Unit

Arg. of Perihelion (ω)

Value

228.2190

1-sigma variation

1.803E-5

Unit

Mean Anomaly (M)

Value

2.76349

1-sigma variation

2.579E-6

Unit

Perihelion distance

Value

0.419608

1-sigma variation

Unit

Aphelion distance

Value

3.249543

1-sigma variation

Unit

Asc. Node-Earth Sep.

Value

0.515946

1-sigma variation

Unit

Desc. Node-Earth Sep.

Value

-0.493955

1-sigma variation

Unit

MOID

Value

0.057657

1-sigma variation

Unit

Orbit Period

Value

907.6154

1-sigma variation

Unit

U parameter

Value

0.0

1-sigma variation

Unit

Covariance Matrix

	a	e	i	Ω	ω	M
a	4.43939E-18	1.23334E-17	-2.03288E-15	-1.39293E-14	1.34840E-14	-4.08848E-15
e	1.23334E-17	4.88152E-16	-1.54995E-14	-1.20130E-13	1.22435E-13	1.45742E-14
i	-2.03288E-15	-1.54995E-14	5.18886E-12	1.92559E-11	-1.78967E-11	-6.73238E-13
Ω	-1.39293E-14	-1.20130E-13	1.92559E-11	3.46774E-10	-3.33886E-10	-7.04254E-12
ω	1.34840E-14	1.22435E-13	-1.78967E-11	-3.33886E-10	3.24994E-10	6.35983E-12
M	-4.08848E-15	1.45742E-14	-6.73238E-13	-7.04254E-12	6.35983E-12	6.64927E-12

Date of computation: 2026-11-06 13:31 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

2.706

Unit

Source

[5]

Quality

Value

3,B,R

Unit

Source

[5]

Amplitude

Value

0.05-0.18

Unit

mag

Source

[5]

Rotation Direction

Value

Unit

Source

[-]

Spinvector L

Value

Unit

Source

[-]

Spinvector B

Value

Unit

Source

[-]

Taxonomy
Taxonomy (all)

Taxonomy

Value

Unit

Source

Taxonomy

Value

Unit

Source

[1]

[2]

Taxonomy (all)

Value

O;Sk;Q

Unit

Source

[3]

[4]

Absolute Magnitude (H)
Slope Parameter (G)

H / G

Value

Unit

Source

Absolute Magnitude (H)

Value

14.075

14.1

Unit

mag

Source

[6]

[7]

Slope Parameter (G)

Value

0.45

0.15**

Unit

Source

[8]

[6]

Albedo
Diameter

Size and albedo

Value

Unit

Source

Albedo

Value

0.38

Unit

Source

[11]

Diameter

Value

3410

Unit

Source

[9]

Color Index Information

Color Index Information

Value

Unit

Source

Color Index Information

Value

0.42

Unit

V-R

Source

[12]

Sightings

Sightings

Value

Unit

Source

Sightings

Value

Radar R

Visual S

Unit

Source

[13]

[14]

Satellites

Satellites

Value

Unit

Source

Satellites

Value

Binary Child 1

Unit

Source

[4]

Download this part as:

Sources

No.	Name	Additional
[1]	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)
[2]	EARN	1.) Alexey V. Sergeyev and Benoit Carry A&A, 652 (2021) A59
[3]	EARN	1.) 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.) 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.) Lazzarin, M. et al. (2004) Icarus 169, 373-384. (Visible and near-infrared spectroscopic investigation of near-Earth objects at ESO: first results) 4.) Lazzarin, M., Marchi,S. & Magrin, S. (2010) href="http://www.astro.unipd.it/planets/sineo/data.html"> SINEO Database (Spectroscopic Investiation of Near-Earth Objects) 5.) Thomas, C.A. et al. (2014) Icarus 228, 217-246. (Physical characterization of Warm Spitzer-observed near-Earth objects) 6.) 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.) Popescu, M. et al. (2014) Astron. Astrophys. 572, A106. (Spectral properties of the largest asteroids associated with Taurid Complex) (2201,4183,4486,5143,6063,269690)
[4]	EARN	Earth Asteroids Research Node: https://earn.dlr.de
[5]	EARN	1.) Polishook, D. (2012) MPB 39, 187-192. (LIGHTCURVES AND SPIN PERIODS OF NEAR-EARTH ASTEROIDS, THE WISE OBSERVATORY, 2005 - 2010) (1862,3361,5143,10115,40267,66251,68216,86829, 105140,138893,141432,141495,152931,185851,2009UN3) 2.) Pilcher, F. et al. (2012) MPB 39, 148-151. (ROTATION PERIOD DETERMINATION FOR 5143 HERACLES) 3.) Pravec, P. et al. (1998) Icarus 136, 124-153. (Lightcurves of 26 Near-Earth Asteroids)(1943,2063,2100,3103,3122,3200, 3691,3752,4341,4957,5143,5587,7025,7341,7480,7482,7822,8034, 1989UQ,1992CC1,1992QN,1995FX,1997BR,1997GH3,1997GL3,1997SE5) 4.) Taylor, P.A. et al. (2012) CBET HREF="http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/iau/cbet/003100/CBET003176.txt"> 3176. ((5143) HERACLES) (Radar binary detection) 5.) Linder, T.R. et al (2013) MPB 40, 4-6. (ASTRONOMICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE PHOTOMETIC RESULTS) (3122,,5143,6455, 36284,,2010LF86) 6.) Warner, B.D. (2017) MPB 44, 22-36. (NEAR-EARTH ASTEROID LIGHTCURVE ANALYSIS AT CS3-PALMER DIVIDE STATION: 2016 JULY-SEPTEMBER) (46 NEAs)
[6]	ESA Aegis	ESA orbit determination and impact monitoring system
[7]	EARN	1.) Pilcher, F. et al. (2012) MPB 39, 148-151. (ROTATION PERIOD DETERMINATION FOR 5143 HERACLES) 2.) Polishook, D. (2012) MPB 39, 187-192. (LIGHTCURVES AND SPIN PERIODS OF NEAR-EARTH ASTEROIDS, THE WISE OBSERVATORY, 2005 - 2010) (1862,3361,5143,10115,40267,66251,68216,86829, 105140,138893,141432,141495,152931,185851,2009UN3) 3.) Pravec, P. et al. (2012) Icarus 221, 365-387 (Absolute magnitudes of asteroids and a revision of asteroid albedo estimates from WISE thermal observations) 4.) Pravec, P. et al. (1998) Icarus 136, 124-153. (Lightcurves of 26 Near-Earth Asteroids)(1943,2063,2100,3103,3122,3200, 3691,3752,4341,4957,5143,5587,7025,7341,7480,7482,7822,8034, 1989UQ,1992CC1,1992QN,1995FX,1997BR,1997GH3,1997GL3,1997SE5)
[8]	EARN	1.) Polishook, D. (2012) MPB 39, 187-192. (LIGHTCURVES AND SPIN PERIODS OF NEAR-EARTH ASTEROIDS, THE WISE OBSERVATORY, 2005 - 2010) (1862,3361,5143,10115,40267,66251,68216,86829, 105140,138893,141432,141495,152931,185851,2009UN3) 2.) Pilcher, F. et al. (2012) MPB 39, 148-151. (ROTATION PERIOD DETERMINATION FOR 5143 HERACLES) 3.) Pravec, P. et al. (2012) Icarus 221, 365-387 (Absolute magnitudes of asteroids and a revision of asteroid albedo estimates from WISE thermal observations) 4.) Pravec, P. et al. (1998) Icarus 136, 124-153. (Lightcurves of 26 Near-Earth Asteroids)(1943,2063,2100,3103,3122,3200, 3691,3752,4341,4957,5143,5587,7025,7341,7480,7482,7822,8034, 1989UQ,1992CC1,1992QN,1995FX,1997BR,1997GH3,1997GL3,1997SE5)
[9]	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.) Mainzer, A. et al. (2011) ApJ 743, 156. (NEOWISE Observations of Near-Earth Objects: Preliminary Results) (albedo and diameters of 428 NEOs) 3.) Harris(DLR), A.W. et al. (2011) Astron. J. 141, 75. (ExploreNEOs. II. THE ACCURACY OF THE WARM SPITZER NEAR-EARTH OBJECT SURVEY) 4.) Trilling, D.E. et al. (2010) Astron. J. 140, 770-784. (EXPLORENEOs. I. DESCRIPTION AND FIRST RESULTS FROM THE WARM SPITZER NEAR-EARTH OBJECT SURVEY) (diameters & albedos for 101 NEOs) 5.) Binzel, R.P. et al. (2002) in "Asteroids III" (Eds. W.F.Bottke et al.), Univ.Ariz.Press, Tucson, USA, pp. 255-271. (Physical Properties of NEOs) 6.) Mainzer, A.; Grav, T.; Masiero, J.; Hand, E.; et al. (2011) Astrophys. J. 741, A90. See also Grav 2012b and Masiero 2012. 7.) Usui, F. et al. (2011) Pub. Astron. Soc. Japan 63, 1117-1138. (Asteroid Catalog Using AKARI: AKARI/IRC Mid-Infrared Asteroid Survey)
[10]	EARN	1.) Taylor, P.A. et al. (2012) CBET HREF="http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/iau/cbet/003100/CBET003176.txt"> 3176. ((5143) HERACLES) (Radar binary detection)
[11]	EARN	1.) Harris(DLR), A.W. et al. (2011) Astron. J. 141, 75. (ExploreNEOs. II. THE ACCURACY OF THE WARM SPITZER NEAR-EARTH OBJECT SURVEY) 2.) Pravec, P. et al. (2012) Icarus 221, 365-387 (Absolute magnitudes of asteroids and a revision of asteroid albedo estimates from WISE thermal observations) 3.) Mainzer, A. et al. (2011) ApJ 743, 156. (NEOWISE Observations of Near-Earth Objects: Preliminary Results) (albedo and diameters of 428 NEOs) 4.) Thomas, C.A. et al. (2011) Astron. J. 142, 85. (ExploreNEOs. V. AVERAGE ALBEDO BY TAXONOMIC COMPLEX IN THE NEAR-EARTH ASTEROID POPULATION) (new albedos data for 118 NEOs) 5.) Trilling, D.E. et al. (2010) Astron. J. 140, 770-784. (EXPLORENEOs. I. DESCRIPTION AND FIRST RESULTS FROM THE WARM SPITZER NEAR-EARTH OBJECT SURVEY) (diameters & albedos for 101 NEOs) 6.) Mainzer, A.; Grav, T.; Masiero, J.; Hand, E.; et al. (2011) Astrophys. J. 741, A90. See also Grav 2012b and Masiero 2012. 7.) Usui, F. et al. (2011) Pub. Astron. Soc. Japan 63, 1117-1138. (Asteroid Catalog Using AKARI: AKARI/IRC Mid-Infrared Asteroid Survey)
[12]	EARN	1.) Pilcher, F. et al. (2012) MPB 39, 148-151. (ROTATION PERIOD DETERMINATION FOR 5143 HERACLES)
[13]	EARN	1.) href="http://echo.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroids/index.html">JPL's NEO Radar Detection Program Webpage
[14]	EARN	1.) Lazzarin, M. et al. (2004) Icarus 169, 373-384. (Visible and near-infrared spectroscopic investigation of near-Earth objects at ESO: first results) 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.) Binzel, R.P. et al. (2006) LPSC 37, 1491. (The MIT-Hawaii-IRTF joint campaign for NEO spectral reconnaissance.) 4.) Binzel, R.P. et al. href="http://smass.mit.edu/minus.html"> Webpage 5.) Lazzarin, M., Marchi,S. & Magrin, S. (2010) href="http://www.astro.unipd.it/planets/sineo/data.html"> SINEO Database (Spectroscopic Investiation of Near-Earth Objects) 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.) Thomas, C.A. et al. (2014) Icarus 228, 217-246. (Physical characterization of Warm Spitzer-observed near-Earth objects)

Observational Information

Arc Length
Unobserved
Normalized RMS of residuals

Arc Information

Value

Unit

Source

Arc Length

Value

26639

Unit

Source

[1]

Unobserved

Value

Unit

Source

[1]

Normalized RMS of residuals

Value

0.428294

Unit

Source

[1]

Astrometry Summary

First Observation
Last Observation
Total Optical Observations (Discarded)

Optical

Value

Unit

Source

First Observation

Value

1953-11-30.08472

Unit

Source

[2]

Last Observation

Value

2026-11-06.01825

Unit

Source

[2]

Total Optical Observations (Discarded)

Value

5117 (13)

Unit

Source

[1]

Radar Summary

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

Radar

Value

Unit

Source

First Observation

Value

2016-12-03

Unit

Source

[3]

Last Observation

Value

2016-12-03

Unit

Source

[3]

Delay (Discarded)

Value

1 (0)

Unit

Source

[1]

Doppler (Discarded)

Value

0 (0)

Unit

Source

[-]

Total Radar Observations (Discarded)

Value

1 (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

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Initial Date: *

Final Date: *

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Note: Ephemerides requests are limited to a maximum of 1000 points and a final date not exceeding 2040/12/31 00:00.

Close Approaches for 5143 Heracles from 1950 to 2126

Body	Date in UTC	Time uncert. in min	Nominal distance in au	Min. possible distance in au	Distance uncert. in au
EARTH	1957-07-17 07:46	< 1 min	0.1605082	0.1605069	0.0000004
EARTH	1962-07-07 04:32	< 1 min	0.0998552	0.0998541	0.0000004
EARTH	2016-11-28 23:28	< 1 s	0.1470172	0.1470171	0.0000000
EARTH	2034-07-18 13:42	< 1 s	0.1674667	0.1674660	0.0000002
EARTH	2039-07-10 18:19	< 1 min	0.0577484	0.0577482	0.0000001
EARTH	2044-07-01 13:47	< 1 min	0.1907384	0.1907371	0.0000004
EARTH	2093-12-04 02:14	< 1 min	0.1279138	0.1279125	0.0000004
EARTH	2116-07-11 11:33	< 1 min	0.0511198	0.0511124	0.0000025

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Stationary Points

Ecc. an. ast.	Ecc. an. Earth	Distance in au	Classification
54.93611360	185.36559616	0.05765728	MINIMUM
307.89858495	327.80687776	0.13263736	MINIMUM
2.74012470	79.50669801	0.58128096	SADDLE
2.15139340	257.86293751	1.42028103	SADDLE
180.47709349	254.44279409	2.25608603	SADDLE
180.08505503	74.29919572	4.23905794	MAXIMUM

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MOID Plots

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