SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2016 VH3

2016 VH3

2016 VH3 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 2.389 AU it takes 3.69 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 57
Orbital Period · P
3.69 yr
v(q)
39.7 km/s
v(Q)
9.4 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.64 km
TJ
2.93
Eccentricity · e
0.6183

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.912 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 3.866 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 2.954 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 2.389 AU gives an orbital period of 3.69 yr, or about 1,349 days.

The high eccentricity (0.618) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

A steep inclination of 45.17° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 39.7 km/s at perihelion and falls to 9.4 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 = 18.73 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.64 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 57 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.344 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
2.389 AU
Eccentricity
0.6183
Perihelion
0.912 AU
Aphelion
3.866119 AU
Inclination
45.17°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
190.11°

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-May-03 07:49 0.265691 AU
39746826 km
24.30 km/s
2039-May-18 13:56 0.295508 AU
44207330 km
30.77 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
18.73

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.34402
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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