SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2013 F3

McNaught

McNaught follows a distinctly cometary orbit: an eccentricity of 0.997 carries it from 2.253 AU at perihelion out to 1,520.5 AU at aphelion.

comet Observations: 301
Orbital Period · P
21,010 yr
v(q)
28 km/s
v(Q)
0 km/s
TJ
0.16
Eccentricity · e
0.997

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 2.253 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1,520.5 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 1,518.3 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 761.4 AU gives an orbital period of 21,010 yr, or about 7,673,783 days.

The high eccentricity (0.997) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

A steep inclination of 85.44° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 28 km/s at perihelion and falls to 0 km/s at aphelion.

Its Tisserand parameter with respect to Jupiter is T_J = 0.16, a standard discriminator between asteroidal and cometary dynamics.

Size and surface

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

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 301 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.6387 arcseconds.

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
761.4 AU
Eccentricity
0.997
Perihelion
2.253 AU
Aphelion
1520.5158 AU
Inclination
85.44°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2456463.5
Mean Anomaly
0.0°

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

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
—

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.63869
Condition
—
Orbit ID
—
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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