SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2005 GJ8

2005 GJ8

2005 GJ8 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.766 AU it takes 2.35 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 81
Orbital Period · P
2.35 yr
v(q)
41.7 km/s
v(Q)
12.1 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.28 km
TJ
3.92
Eccentricity · e
0.5513

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.792 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.74 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 1.948 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.766 AU gives an orbital period of 2.35 yr, or about 857 days.

The high eccentricity (0.551) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

Its inclination of 3.39° keeps it close to the plane of the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 41.7 km/s at perihelion and falls to 12.1 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 = 20.54 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.28 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 81 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.5279 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
1.766 AU
Eccentricity
0.5513
Perihelion
0.792 AU
Aphelion
2.739596 AU
Inclination
3.39°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
34.55°

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
2037-Oct-28 19:09 0.114262 AU
17093301 km
16.73 km/s
2044-Nov-23 14:39 0.115419 AU
17266443 km
10.63 km/s
2052-Jan-10 05:51 0.194250 AU
29059348 km
11.54 km/s
2059-Feb-25 02:40 0.122949 AU
18392935 km
10.55 km/s
2066-Mar-21 05:52 0.112519 AU
16832662 km
16.28 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
20.54

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.52793
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.

Keep exploring

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