SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2016 GA221

2016 GA221

2016 GA221 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.073 AU it takes 1.11 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 47
Orbital Period · P
1.11 yr
v(q)
43.6 km/s
v(Q)
19 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.1 km
TJ
5.66
Eccentricity · e
0.3932

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.651 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.495 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.844 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.073 AU gives an orbital period of 1.11 yr, or about 406 days.

An eccentricity of 0.393 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

The orbital plane is tilted 14.67° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 43.6 km/s at perihelion and falls to 19 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 = 22.76 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.1 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 47 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.4527 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
1.073 AU
Eccentricity
0.3932
Perihelion
0.651 AU
Aphelion
1.494904 AU
Inclination
14.67°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
327.35°

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
2028-Nov-26 00:53 0.180598 AU
27017103 km
15.03 km/s
2036-May-02 14:22 0.124552 AU
18632783 km
12.29 km/s
2038-Nov-30 08:36 0.196032 AU
29325993 km
16.21 km/s
2046-May-02 16:10 0.148038 AU
22146109 km
11.58 km/s
2056-Apr-30 16:34 0.185792 AU
27794119 km
10.81 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
22.76

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.45271
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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