SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2008 UT2

2008 UT2

2008 UT2 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.808 AU it takes 2.43 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 37
Orbital Period · P
2.43 yr
v(q)
37.6 km/s
v(Q)
13.1 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.03 km
TJ
3.9
Eccentricity · e
0.4843

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.932 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.684 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 1.752 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.808 AU gives an orbital period of 2.43 yr, or about 888 days.

The high eccentricity (0.484) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

The orbital plane is tilted 7.59° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 37.6 km/s at perihelion and falls to 13.1 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 = 25.1 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.03 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 37 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.7081 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 8 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
1.808 AU
Eccentricity
0.4843
Perihelion
0.932 AU
Aphelion
2.683614 AU
Inclination
7.59°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2454765.5
Mean Anomaly
17.96°

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
2059-Nov-11 22:35 0.272181 AU
40717750 km
22.87 km/s
2064-Jul-11 13:24 0.145177 AU
21718236 km
11.65 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
25.1

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.70812
Condition
8
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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