SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2016 PK66

2016 PK66

2016 PK66 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.37 AU it takes 1.60 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 64
Orbital Period · P
1.60 yr
v(q)
43.9 km/s
v(Q)
14.7 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.19 km
TJ
4.68
Eccentricity · e
0.4982

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.688 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.053 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 1.365 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.37 AU gives an orbital period of 1.60 yr, or about 586 days.

The high eccentricity (0.498) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

The orbital plane is tilted 5.84° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 43.9 km/s at perihelion and falls to 14.7 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 = 21.35 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.19 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 64 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.5721 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
1.37 AU
Eccentricity
0.4982
Perihelion
0.688 AU
Aphelion
2.052534 AU
Inclination
5.84°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
331.79°

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
2049-Feb-23 19:25 0.184712 AU
27632546 km
9.46 km/s
2057-Mar-07 20:08 0.107177 AU
16033390 km
11.98 km/s
2065-Mar-09 12:34 0.092195 AU
13792115 km
12.66 km/s
2073-Mar-10 12:55 0.084700 AU
12670918 km
13.07 km/s
2077-Sep-11 21:11 0.199340 AU
29820791 km
19.83 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
21.35

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.57208
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.

Keep exploring

Explore asteroids, comets and near-Earth objects with JPL orbital data.