SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2015 PC228

2015 PC228

2015 PC228 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.532 AU it takes 1.90 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 103
Orbital Period · P
1.90 yr
v(q)
41.8 km/s
v(Q)
13.9 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.42 km
TJ
4.31
Eccentricity · e
0.5011

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.764 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.3 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 1.536 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.532 AU gives an orbital period of 1.90 yr, or about 693 days.

The high eccentricity (0.501) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

The orbital plane is tilted 12.37° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 41.8 km/s at perihelion and falls to 13.9 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 = 19.64 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.42 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 103 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.3795 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
1.532 AU
Eccentricity
0.5011
Perihelion
0.764 AU
Aphelion
2.299685 AU
Inclination
12.37°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
147.03°

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-Feb-18 23:03 0.138173 AU
20670403 km
12.57 km/s
2038-Oct-21 15:28 0.201495 AU
30143172 km
12.58 km/s
2054-Mar-30 16:25 0.357063 AU
53415919 km
23.51 km/s
2056-Jan-21 16:42 0.219070 AU
32772471 km
12.90 km/s
2057-Oct-10 08:34 0.249275 AU
37290985 km
17.74 km/s
2073-Mar-21 03:27 0.215138 AU
32184198 km
19.12 km/s
2074-Dec-25 23:35 0.255485 AU
38219977 km
12.84 km/s
2076-Oct-02 05:40 0.364551 AU
54536067 km
22.35 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
19.64

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.37946
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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