SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2017 TA4

2017 TA4

2017 TA4 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 2.427 AU it takes 3.78 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 119
Orbital Period · P
3.78 yr
v(q)
46.2 km/s
v(Q)
7.9 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.48 km
TJ
3
Eccentricity · e
0.7079

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.709 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 4.145 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 3.436 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 2.427 AU gives an orbital period of 3.78 yr, or about 1,381 days.

The high eccentricity (0.708) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

A steep inclination of 27.36° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 46.2 km/s at perihelion and falls to 7.9 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 = 19.33 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.48 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 119 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.4053 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
2.427 AU
Eccentricity
0.7079
Perihelion
0.709 AU
Aphelion
4.145073 AU
Inclination
27.36°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
119.51°

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
2036-Jul-27 00:19 0.451925 AU
67607034 km
19.23 km/s
2055-Jun-30 05:37 0.495027 AU
74055060 km
17.59 km/s
2070-Oct-08 19:17 0.262192 AU
39223313 km
30.09 km/s
2074-Apr-17 14:00 0.317268 AU
47462577 km
22.80 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
19.33

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.4053
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.

Keep exploring

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