SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2016 QD44

2016 QD44

2016 QD44 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 2.628 AU it takes 4.26 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 41
Orbital Period · P
4.26 yr
v(q)
57 km/s
v(Q)
5.9 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.59 km
TJ
2.7
Eccentricity · e
0.8117

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.495 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 4.761 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 4.266 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 2.628 AU gives an orbital period of 4.26 yr, or about 1,556 days.

The high eccentricity (0.812) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

A steep inclination of 29.49° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 57 km/s at perihelion and falls to 5.9 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 = 18.9 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.59 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 41 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.7307 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
2.628 AU
Eccentricity
0.8117
Perihelion
0.495 AU
Aphelion
4.761148 AU
Inclination
29.49°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
134.66°

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
2046-Jan-24 17:59 0.372955 AU
55793288 km
30.63 km/s
2050-Jul-27 19:03 0.409484 AU
61257915 km
21.39 km/s
2063-Mar-29 04:33 0.498583 AU
74586957 km
31.54 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
18.9

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.73067
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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