STEREO

Encyclopedia excerpt

STEREO (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) is a solar observation mission. Two nearly identical spacecraft (STEREO-A, STEREO-B) were launched in 2006 into orbits around the Sun that cause them to respectively pull farther ahead of and fall gradually behind the Earth. This enabled stereoscopic imaging of the Sun and solar phenomena, such as coronal mass ejections. Contact with STEREO-B was lost in 2014 after it entered an uncontrolled spin preventing its solar panels from generating enough power. It was briefly resumed in 2016 before being interrupted and eventually declared lost.

Eccentricity · e

1.0

Orbit and dynamics

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 144.0° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

Size and surface

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

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 52 observations.

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

— AU

Eccentricity

1.0

Perihelion

0.005 AU

Aphelion

— AU

Inclination

143.99°

Orbital Period

— yr

Epoch

2454518.9

Mean Anomaly

—°

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

—

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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