SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2015 XD261

2015 XD261

2015 XD261 is an Amor-type near-Earth asteroid that approaches Earth from beyond our orbit without crossing it, orbiting the Sun at 1.759 AU once every 2.33 yr.

Amor Observations: 43
Orbital Period · P
2.33 yr
v(q)
31.4 km/s
v(Q)
16.1 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.11 km
TJ
4
Eccentricity · e
0.3228

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 1.191 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.327 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 1.136 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.759 AU gives an orbital period of 2.33 yr, or about 852 days.

An eccentricity of 0.323 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

The orbital plane is tilted 19.06° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 31.4 km/s at perihelion and falls to 16.1 km/s at aphelion.

Its perihelion lies just outside Earth's orbit, which is why it is classed as Earth-approaching rather than Earth-crossing.

Size and surface

No direct size measurement is available; from an absolute magnitude of H = 22.45 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.11 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 43 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.6599 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 1 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
1.759 AU
Eccentricity
0.3228
Perihelion
1.191 AU
Aphelion
2.326805 AU
Inclination
19.06°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
183.24°

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
2029-Dec-01 09:53 0.268413 AU
40154086 km
11.10 km/s
2036-Dec-01 00:29 0.276335 AU
41339120 km
11.19 km/s
2043-Dec-01 12:36 0.287593 AU
43023258 km
11.30 km/s
2050-Dec-01 01:16 0.300246 AU
44916112 km
11.43 km/s
2057-Nov-30 08:56 0.318151 AU
47594689 km
11.63 km/s
2064-Nov-29 18:11 0.340810 AU
50984518 km
11.87 km/s
2071-Nov-29 20:20 0.371302 AU
55545992 km
12.21 km/s
2078-Nov-28 18:49 0.407526 AU
60965042 km
12.56 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
22.45

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.65992
Condition
1
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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