SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2017 WN16

2017 WN16

2017 WN16 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.273 AU it takes 1.44 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 63
Orbital Period · P
1.44 yr
v(q)
48.1 km/s
v(Q)
14.5 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.17 km
TJ
4.81
Eccentricity · e
0.5367

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.59 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.956 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 1.366 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.273 AU gives an orbital period of 1.44 yr, or about 525 days.

The high eccentricity (0.537) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

A steep inclination of 30.64° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 48.1 km/s at perihelion and falls to 14.5 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 = 21.55 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.17 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 63 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.6105 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 5 indicates a moderately constrained orbit; predictions decades ahead still carry noticeable uncertainty.

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
1.273 AU
Eccentricity
0.5367
Perihelion
0.59 AU
Aphelion
1.956219 AU
Inclination
30.64°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
23.73°

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
2027-Dec-04 00:26 0.133734 AU
20006366 km
26.27 km/s
2033-May-28 00:36 0.199102 AU
29785275 km
20.62 km/s
2040-Nov-19 17:20 0.228346 AU
34160051 km
18.22 km/s
2043-Jul-12 21:41 0.489628 AU
73247362 km
19.37 km/s
2046-May-06 04:47 0.236676 AU
35406283 km
27.94 km/s
2050-Dec-04 17:53 0.147975 AU
22136742 km
26.82 km/s
2056-May-30 09:29 0.219203 AU
32792323 km
20.14 km/s
2063-Nov-21 18:46 0.181201 AU
27107265 km
18.97 km/s
2069-May-08 10:34 0.200849 AU
30046652 km
26.87 km/s
2073-Dec-06 09:16 0.191081 AU
28585380 km
27.98 km/s
2079-Jun-03 05:54 0.249248 AU
37286914 km
19.66 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
21.55

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.61051
Condition
5
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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