SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2012 XZ6

2012 XZ6

2012 XZ6 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.941 AU it takes 2.70 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 239
Orbital Period · P
2.70 yr
v(q)
36 km/s
v(Q)
12.7 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.39 km
TJ
3.45
Eccentricity · e
0.4777

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 1.014 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.868 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 1.854 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.941 AU gives an orbital period of 2.70 yr, or about 988 days.

The high eccentricity (0.478) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

A steep inclination of 44.54° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 36 km/s at perihelion and falls to 12.7 km/s at aphelion.

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 239 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.4588 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
1.941 AU
Eccentricity
0.4777
Perihelion
1.014 AU
Aphelion
2.868216 AU
Inclination
44.54°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
12.2°

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-Nov-18 18:13 0.463037 AU
69269404 km
24.09 km/s
2039-Dec-10 13:12 0.264445 AU
39560341 km
28.20 km/s
2058-Nov-25 08:19 0.239408 AU
35814973 km
24.15 km/s
2066-Dec-19 03:35 0.496719 AU
74308160 km
32.13 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
0.45878
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.

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