SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2002 MS3

2002 MS3

2002 MS3 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 2.39 AU it takes 3.69 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 130
Orbital Period · P
3.69 yr
v(q)
39.4 km/s
v(Q)
9.4 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.51 km
TJ
3.17
Eccentricity · e
0.6145

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.921 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 3.859 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 2.938 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 2.39 AU gives an orbital period of 3.69 yr, or about 1,350 days.

The high eccentricity (0.615) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

A steep inclination of 21.75° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 39.4 km/s at perihelion and falls to 9.4 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 = 19.21 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.51 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 130 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.4408 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
2.39 AU
Eccentricity
0.6145
Perihelion
0.921 AU
Aphelion
3.858655 AU
Inclination
21.75°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
150.26°

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

No close approaches to Earth are currently on record for this object.

Physical Parameters

Diameter
— km
Albedo
—
Density
— g/cm³
Rotation Period
— h
Absolute Magnitude
19.21

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.44083
Condition
0
Orbit ID
—
Data source: NASA JPL Small-Body Database . 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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