SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2015 XG261

2015 XG261

2015 XG261 is an Aten-type near-Earth asteroid whose orbit lies mostly inside that of Earth, with a semi-major axis of 0.99 AU and a period of 0.99 yr.

Aten Observations: 25
Orbital Period · P
0.99 yr
v(q)
36.5 km/s
v(Q)
24.6 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.09 km
TJ
5.61
Eccentricity · e
0.1952

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.797 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.184 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.387 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 0.99 AU gives an orbital period of 0.99 yr, or about 360 days.

An eccentricity of 0.195 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

A steep inclination of 65.77° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 36.5 km/s at perihelion and falls to 24.6 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 = 23.05 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.09 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 25 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.399 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 8 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
0.9904 AU
Eccentricity
0.1952
Perihelion
0.797 AU
Aphelion
1.183726 AU
Inclination
65.77°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2457369.5
Mean Anomaly
172.02°

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
23.05

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.39902
Condition
8
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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