SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2016 WP3

2016 WP3

2016 WP3 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.38 AU it takes 1.62 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 44
Orbital Period · P
1.62 yr
v(q)
33.2 km/s
v(Q)
19.4 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.03 km
TJ
4.76
Eccentricity · e
0.2632

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 1.017 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.743 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.726 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.38 AU gives an orbital period of 1.62 yr, or about 592 days.

An eccentricity of 0.263 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

The orbital plane is tilted 5.43° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 33.2 km/s at perihelion and falls to 19.4 km/s at aphelion.

Size and surface

No direct size measurement is available; from an absolute magnitude of H = 25.5 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.03 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 44 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.5365 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
1.38 AU
Eccentricity
0.2632
Perihelion
1.017 AU
Aphelion
1.743216 AU
Inclination
5.43°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
336.87°

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
2037-Dec-10 23:17 0.292501 AU
43757467 km
17.81 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
25.5

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.53646
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.

Keep exploring

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