SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2004 XC51

2004 XC51

2004 XC51 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 2.138 AU it takes 3.13 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 49
Orbital Period · P
3.13 yr
v(q)
53.3 km/s
v(Q)
7.8 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.37 km
TJ
3.08
Eccentricity · e
0.7449

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.545 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 3.731 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 3.186 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 2.138 AU gives an orbital period of 3.13 yr, or about 1,142 days.

The high eccentricity (0.745) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

A steep inclination of 40.67° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 53.3 km/s at perihelion and falls to 7.8 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 = 19.9 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.37 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 49 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.493 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 7 signals a poorly constrained orbit, so its future path should be treated as provisional.

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
2.138 AU
Eccentricity
0.7449
Perihelion
0.545 AU
Aphelion
3.730596 AU
Inclination
40.67°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
294.05°

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
19.9

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.49301
Condition
7
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.

Keep exploring

Explore asteroids, comets and near-Earth objects with JPL orbital data.