SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2004 T3

Siding Spring

Siding Spring follows a distinctly cometary orbit: an eccentricity of 0.999 carries it from 8.864 AU at perihelion out to 11,607 AU at aphelion.

comet Observations: 110
Orbital Period · P
442,629 yr
v(q)
14.1 km/s
v(Q)
0 km/s
TJ
1.13
Eccentricity · e
0.9985

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 8.864 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 11,607 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 11,598 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 5,808.0 AU gives an orbital period of 442,629 yr, or about 161,670,260 days.

The high eccentricity (0.999) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

A steep inclination of 71.96° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 14.1 km/s at perihelion and falls to 0 km/s at aphelion.

Its Tisserand parameter with respect to Jupiter is T_J = 1.13, a standard discriminator between asteroidal and cometary dynamics.

Size and surface

Neither a measured diameter nor a reliable absolute magnitude is available for Siding Spring, so its physical size remains unconstrained.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 110 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.5678 arcseconds.

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
5808.0 AU
Eccentricity
0.9985
Perihelion
8.864 AU
Aphelion
11607.288 AU
Inclination
71.96°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2453411.5
Mean Anomaly
0.0°

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
—

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.56778
Condition
—
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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