SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2016 SJ

2016 SJ

2016 SJ belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.83 AU it takes 2.48 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 28
Orbital Period · P
2.48 yr
v(q)
40.8 km/s
v(Q)
11.9 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.01 km
TJ
3.84
Eccentricity · e
0.5482

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.827 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.833 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 2.006 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.83 AU gives an orbital period of 2.48 yr, or about 904 days.

The high eccentricity (0.548) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

Its inclination of 1.61° keeps it close to the plane of the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 40.8 km/s at perihelion and falls to 11.9 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 = 29 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.01 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 28 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.3316 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 7 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
1.83 AU
Eccentricity
0.5482
Perihelion
0.827 AU
Aphelion
2.833206 AU
Inclination
1.61°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
349.9°

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
2078-May-16 03:59 0.025467 AU
3809793 km
14.94 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
29.0

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.33158
Condition
7
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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