SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2005 L3

McNaught

McNaught follows a distinctly cometary orbit: an eccentricity of 1 carries it from 5.594 AU at perihelion out to 27,055 AU at aphelion.

comet Observations: 5,219
Orbital Period · P
1,573,790 yr
v(q)
17.8 km/s
v(Q)
0 km/s
TJ
-2.19
Eccentricity · e
0.9996

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 5.594 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 27,055 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 27,049 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 13,530 AU gives an orbital period of 1,573,790 yr, or about 574,826,683 days.

The high eccentricity (1) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

A steep inclination of 139.4° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 17.8 km/s at perihelion and falls to 0 km/s at aphelion.

Its Tisserand parameter with respect to Jupiter is T_J = -2.19, a standard discriminator between asteroidal and cometary dynamics.

Size and surface

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

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 5,219 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.6014 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
13530.0 AU
Eccentricity
0.9996
Perihelion
5.594 AU
Aphelion
27054.588 AU
Inclination
139.45°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2454729.5
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
0.60144
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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