SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2001 RW17

2001 RW17

2001 RW17 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 2.357 AU it takes 3.62 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 285
Orbital Period · P
3.62 yr
v(q)
42.8 km/s
v(Q)
8.8 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.32 km
TJ
3.21
Eccentricity · e
0.6597

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.802 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 3.912 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 3.11 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 2.357 AU gives an orbital period of 3.62 yr, or about 1,322 days.

The high eccentricity (0.66) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

The orbital plane is tilted 8.72° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 42.8 km/s at perihelion and falls to 8.8 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 = 20.22 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.32 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 285 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.3734 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
2.357 AU
Eccentricity
0.6597
Perihelion
0.802 AU
Aphelion
3.911913 AU
Inclination
8.72°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
329.28°

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
2030-Mar-31 05:23 0.096187 AU
14389390 km
17.63 km/s
2048-May-03 10:56 0.218441 AU
32678300 km
12.66 km/s
2066-Aug-03 06:27 0.098189 AU
14688935 km
14.16 km/s
2077-Mar-21 14:58 0.207533 AU
31046430 km
22.20 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
20.22

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.3734
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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