SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2006 XE2

2006 XE2

2006 XE2 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.15 AU it takes 1.23 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 79
Orbital Period · P
1.23 yr
v(q)
38.3 km/s
v(Q)
20.2 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.14 km
TJ
5.37
Eccentricity · e
0.3099

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.794 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.506 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.712 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.15 AU gives an orbital period of 1.23 yr, or about 450 days.

An eccentricity of 0.31 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

A steep inclination of 20.02° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 38.3 km/s at perihelion and falls to 20.2 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 = 22 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.14 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 79 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.6606 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
1.15 AU
Eccentricity
0.3099
Perihelion
0.794 AU
Aphelion
1.506385 AU
Inclination
20.02°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
355.0°

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

Predicted close approaches to Earth, from NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS).

Date (UTC)Miss distanceVelocity
2027-Dec-13 11:03 0.202912 AU
30355202 km
11.18 km/s
2037-May-28 23:25 0.144402 AU
21602299 km
19.35 km/s
2038-Dec-16 23:02 0.314865 AU
47103165 km
23.70 km/s
2043-Dec-07 01:56 0.122690 AU
18354209 km
14.04 km/s
2059-Dec-14 05:57 0.158986 AU
23784035 km
21.33 km/s
2064-Dec-06 08:19 0.123507 AU
18476353 km
12.82 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
22.0

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.66063
Condition
7
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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