Orbit and dynamics
The path is an ellipse reaching 2.131 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 3.907 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 1.776 AU.
Applying Kepler's third law to a = 3.019 AU gives an orbital period of 5.25 yr, or about 1,916 days.
An eccentricity of 0.294 makes the orbit moderately elongated.
Its inclination of 2.2° keeps it close to the plane of the ecliptic.
By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 23.2 km/s at perihelion and falls to 12.7 km/s at aphelion.
Its Tisserand parameter with respect to Jupiter is T_J = 3.18, a standard discriminator between asteroidal and cometary dynamics.
Size and surface
Neither a measured diameter nor a reliable absolute magnitude is available for Sheppard, so its physical size remains unconstrained.
Observation record and orbit quality
The current orbit solution is based on 26 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.3255 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
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
No close approaches to Earth are currently on record for this object.
Physical Parameters
Orbit Quality
Related Objects
Same object type
Similar orbit
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