SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2016 WG9

2016 WG9

2016 WG9 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 2.343 AU it takes 3.59 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 70
Orbital Period · P
3.59 yr
v(q)
41.7 km/s
v(Q)
9.1 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.19 km
TJ
3.24
Eccentricity · e
0.6421

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.838 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 3.847 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 3.009 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 2.343 AU gives an orbital period of 3.59 yr, or about 1,310 days.

The high eccentricity (0.642) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

The orbital plane is tilted 5.78° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 41.7 km/s at perihelion and falls to 9.1 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 = 21.39 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 70 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.6293 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
2.343 AU
Eccentricity
0.6421
Perihelion
0.838 AU
Aphelion
3.84744 AU
Inclination
5.78°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
257.27°

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
2034-Jul-23 15:21 0.092480 AU
13834882 km
12.47 km/s
2052-Aug-20 12:55 0.165655 AU
24781701 km
12.22 km/s
2070-Jul-17 08:23 0.059724 AU
8934548 km
13.24 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
21.39

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.62933
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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