SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2001 VJ5

2001 VJ5

2001 VJ5 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.932 AU it takes 2.69 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 47
Orbital Period · P
2.69 yr
v(q)
40.4 km/s
v(Q)
11.4 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.14 km
TJ
3.7
Eccentricity · e
0.5615

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.847 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 3.017 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 2.17 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.932 AU gives an orbital period of 2.69 yr, or about 981 days.

The high eccentricity (0.561) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

The orbital plane is tilted 6.06° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 40.4 km/s at perihelion and falls to 11.4 km/s at aphelion.

Because q < 1 AU and Q > 1 AU, this orbit geometrically intersects the region of Earth's orbit.

Size and surface

No direct size measurement is available; from an absolute magnitude of H = 22 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.14 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 47 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.7624 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 0 means the orbit is very well determined, leaving only a small uncertainty in the future ephemeris.

About these computed values

Orbital periods, perihelion and aphelion speeds, and diameter estimates on this page are computed by SpaceAtlas from the JPL SBDB orbital elements. They are derived quantities, not values copied from the source catalogue.

Orbital Parameters

Semi-Major Axis
1.932 AU
Eccentricity
0.5615
Perihelion
0.847 AU
Aphelion
3.016818 AU
Inclination
6.06°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
35.81°

Orbit diagram

The Sun sits at the focus (orange). Earth's orbit is the grey circle at 1 AU. The red dot marks the object's position at the catalog epoch.

3D orbit (interactive)

Drag to rotate; scroll or pinch to zoom. The Sun is at the focus (orange), Earth's orbit is the grey ring at 1 AU, and the red dot marks the object's current position.

Close approaches

Predicted close approaches to Earth, from NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS).

Date (UTC)Miss distanceVelocity
2036-Oct-23 01:43 0.455036 AU
68072429 km
25.99 km/s
2044-Nov-17 09:03 0.043558 AU
6516154 km
13.65 km/s
2053-Jan-13 04:35 0.162631 AU
24329292 km
10.22 km/s
2061-Mar-15 13:23 0.114486 AU
17126818 km
14.57 km/s
2069-Apr-07 14:58 0.470806 AU
70431538 km
26.16 km/s

Distances in astronomical units (AU) and kilometres. Source: NASA/JPL CNEOS Close Approach Data API.

Physical Parameters

Diameter
— km
Albedo
—
Density
— g/cm³
Rotation Period
— h
Absolute Magnitude
22.0

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.76244
Condition
0
Orbit ID
—
Data source: NASA JPL Small-Body Database · NASA CNEOS. Orbital periods, perihelion and aphelion speeds, and diameter estimates on this page are computed by SpaceAtlas from the JPL SBDB orbital elements. They are derived quantities, not values copied from the source catalogue.

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