SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2015 TH238

2015 TH238

2015 TH238 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.229 AU it takes 1.36 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 32
Orbital Period · P
1.36 yr
v(q)
35.7 km/s
v(Q)
20.2 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.15 km
TJ
5.06
Eccentricity · e
0.2764

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.889 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.569 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.68 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.229 AU gives an orbital period of 1.36 yr, or about 498 days.

An eccentricity of 0.276 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

A steep inclination of 28.23° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 35.7 km/s at perihelion and falls to 20.2 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 = 21.89 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.15 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 32 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.5063 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 7 signals a poorly constrained orbit, so its future path should be treated as provisional.

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
1.229 AU
Eccentricity
0.2764
Perihelion
0.889 AU
Aphelion
1.568696 AU
Inclination
28.23°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
142.19°

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
21.89

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.50629
Condition
7
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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