SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2015 NJ3

2015 NJ3

2015 NJ3 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.688 AU it takes 2.19 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 139
Orbital Period · P
2.19 yr
v(q)
51.6 km/s
v(Q)
10.2 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.3 km
TJ
3.91
Eccentricity · e
0.6706

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.556 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.82 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 2.264 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.688 AU gives an orbital period of 2.19 yr, or about 801 days.

The high eccentricity (0.671) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

The orbital plane is tilted 12.27° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 51.6 km/s at perihelion and falls to 10.2 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 = 20.4 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.3 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 139 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.3824 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
1.688 AU
Eccentricity
0.6706
Perihelion
0.556 AU
Aphelion
2.819973 AU
Inclination
12.27°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
317.62°

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
2037-Jul-14 02:29 0.089292 AU
13357831 km
21.18 km/s
2048-Jul-03 16:29 0.197068 AU
29480927 km
26.37 km/s
2075-Jan-26 04:52 0.081975 AU
12263290 km
23.45 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
20.4

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.38237
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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