SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2008 OP8

2008 OP8

2008 OP8 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 2.203 AU it takes 3.27 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 135
Orbital Period · P
3.27 yr
v(q)
45.9 km/s
v(Q)
8.8 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.39 km
TJ
3.31
Eccentricity · e
0.6789

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.708 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 3.699 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 2.991 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 2.203 AU gives an orbital period of 3.27 yr, or about 1,194 days.

The high eccentricity (0.679) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

The orbital plane is tilted 5.22° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 45.9 km/s at perihelion and falls to 8.8 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 = 19.8 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.39 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 135 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.5099 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
2.203 AU
Eccentricity
0.6789
Perihelion
0.708 AU
Aphelion
3.698617 AU
Inclination
5.22°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
181.15°

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
2031-Apr-28 16:21 0.301253 AU
45066782 km
16.48 km/s
2044-Aug-04 16:53 0.255768 AU
38262363 km
25.11 km/s
2054-Apr-16 21:25 0.275374 AU
41195317 km
15.58 km/s
2067-Jul-29 09:56 0.117874 AU
17633708 km
20.84 km/s
2077-Mar-05 16:16 0.127467 AU
19068836 km
14.96 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
19.8

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.50986
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

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