SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2011 MD

2011 MD

2011 MD belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.057 AU it takes 1.09 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 532
Orbital Period · P
1.09 yr
v(q)
30.1 km/s
v(Q)
27.9 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.01 km
TJ
5.82
Eccentricity · e
0.0377

Orbit and dynamics

Between its closest point (1.017 AU) and its farthest (1.097 AU), the heliocentric distance changes by 0.08 AU over every revolution.

One full revolution takes 1.09 yr (397 days), computed from the semi-major axis of 1.057 AU.

With e = 0.038, the orbit is close to circular.

Its inclination of 2.44° keeps it close to the plane of the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 30.1 km/s at perihelion and falls to 27.9 km/s at aphelion.

Size and surface

No direct size measurement is available; from an absolute magnitude of H = 27.98 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.01 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

Astrometry from 532 individual observations underpins this orbit; the fit leaves an RMS residual of 0.335 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 2 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
1.057 AU
Eccentricity
0.0377
Perihelion
1.017 AU
Aphelion
1.096849 AU
Inclination
2.44°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
275.68°

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
2036-May-23 09:19 0.113221 AU
16937563 km
4.32 km/s
2036-Nov-11 17:44 0.097585 AU
14598478 km
2.14 km/s
2049-Jun-12 19:47 0.013625 AU
2038243 km
1.77 km/s
2049-Oct-01 03:15 0.059533 AU
8906071 km
0.78 km/s
2067-May-24 12:24 0.085724 AU
12824129 km
4.65 km/s
2068-Aug-18 09:46 0.154646 AU
23134650 km
6.32 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
27.98

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.33502
Condition
2
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.