SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2015 AA246

2015 AA246

2015 AA246 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 2.402 AU it takes 3.72 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 76
Orbital Period · P
3.72 yr
v(q)
38.9 km/s
v(Q)
9.5 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.44 km
TJ
3.22
Eccentricity · e
0.6076

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.943 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 3.861 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 2.918 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 2.402 AU gives an orbital period of 3.72 yr, or about 1,360 days.

The high eccentricity (0.608) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

The orbital plane is tilted 11.76° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 38.9 km/s at perihelion and falls to 9.5 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 = 19.53 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.44 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 76 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.542 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
2.402 AU
Eccentricity
0.6076
Perihelion
0.943 AU
Aphelion
3.861455 AU
Inclination
11.76°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
352.13°

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
2030-Apr-07 21:48 0.206306 AU
30862973 km
9.15 km/s
2045-Jan-24 11:25 0.357331 AU
53455927 km
21.58 km/s
2060-Feb-06 15:55 0.199609 AU
29861110 km
15.53 km/s
2075-Jan-18 05:39 0.484924 AU
72543593 km
25.59 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
19.53

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.54198
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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