SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2016 NQ32

2016 NQ32

2016 NQ32 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.515 AU it takes 1.86 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 88
Orbital Period · P
1.86 yr
v(q)
37.8 km/s
v(Q)
15.5 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.2 km
TJ
4.41
Eccentricity · e
0.4176

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.882 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.148 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 1.266 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.515 AU gives an orbital period of 1.86 yr, or about 681 days.

The high eccentricity (0.418) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

Its inclination of 3.53° keeps it close to the plane of the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 37.8 km/s at perihelion and falls to 15.5 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 = 21.2 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.2 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 88 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.5031 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 2 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
1.515 AU
Eccentricity
0.4176
Perihelion
0.882 AU
Aphelion
2.147664 AU
Inclination
3.53°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
63.26°

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-13 01:06 0.101959 AU
15252779 km
12.39 km/s
2031-Jul-29 02:04 0.311349 AU
46577210 km
18.53 km/s
2043-Jan-03 02:52 0.455030 AU
68071474 km
23.20 km/s
2044-Aug-28 04:02 0.064852 AU
9701736 km
8.55 km/s
2044-Dec-29 11:11 0.446020 AU
66723578 km
3.66 km/s
2057-Jul-22 01:27 0.475836 AU
71184021 km
4.27 km/s
2057-Dec-03 08:36 0.038640 AU
5780494 km
9.56 km/s
2059-Jul-24 16:59 0.393984 AU
58939126 km
21.01 km/s
2071-Jan-02 01:16 0.429035 AU
64182721 km
22.46 km/s
2072-Aug-25 18:37 0.058992 AU
8825120 km
8.88 km/s
2073-Jan-02 14:30 0.457831 AU
68490482 km
4.39 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
21.2

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.50312
Condition
2
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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