SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2015 NU13

2015 NU13

2015 NU13 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.829 AU it takes 2.47 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 508
Orbital Period · P
2.47 yr
v(q)
43.4 km/s
v(Q)
11.2 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.46 km
TJ
3.8
Eccentricity · e
0.5902

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.75 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.908 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 2.158 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.829 AU gives an orbital period of 2.47 yr, or about 903 days.

The high eccentricity (0.59) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

Its inclination of 4.22° keeps it close to the plane of the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 43.4 km/s at perihelion and falls to 11.2 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 = 19.46 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.46 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 508 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.5054 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
1.829 AU
Eccentricity
0.5902
Perihelion
0.75 AU
Aphelion
2.908476 AU
Inclination
4.22°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
84.77°

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
2035-Aug-15 07:18 0.085234 AU
12750769 km
17.91 km/s
2068-Jan-06 19:36 0.063377 AU
9481111 km
13.78 km/s
2077-Sep-05 10:08 0.130909 AU
19583724 km
11.93 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
19.46

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.50542
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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