SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2002 BM26

2002 BM26

2002 BM26 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.832 AU it takes 2.48 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 243
Orbital Period · P
2.48 yr
v(q)
35.5 km/s
v(Q)
13.6 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.34 km
TJ
3.86
Eccentricity · e
0.4449

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 1.017 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.647 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 1.63 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.832 AU gives an orbital period of 2.48 yr, or about 906 days.

The high eccentricity (0.445) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

The orbital plane is tilted 16.22° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 35.5 km/s at perihelion and falls to 13.6 km/s at aphelion.

Size and surface

The measured diameter is 0.84 km, a value from direct size determination rather than from brightness alone.

Its geometric albedo of 0.023 indicates a very dark, carbonaceous-type surface.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 243 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.4167 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
1.832 AU
Eccentricity
0.4449
Perihelion
1.017 AU
Aphelion
2.647057 AU
Inclination
16.22°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
288.92°

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
2059-Mar-15 10:00 0.350782 AU
52476313 km
15.99 km/s
2064-Feb-22 03:12 0.124527 AU
18628910 km
11.34 km/s
2069-Jan-30 17:43 0.094012 AU
14063973 km
11.26 km/s
2074-Jan-09 23:18 0.337561 AU
50498335 km
16.15 km/s

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

Physical Parameters

Diameter
0.84 km
Albedo
0.023
Density
— g/cm³
Rotation Period
— h
Absolute Magnitude
20.1

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.41674
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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