SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2023 PN

2023 PN

2023 PN belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.979 AU it takes 2.78 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 187
Orbital Period · P
2.78 yr
v(q)
36.1 km/s
v(Q)
12.4 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.03 km
TJ
3.7
Eccentricity · e
0.4894

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 1.011 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.948 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 1.937 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.979 AU gives an orbital period of 2.78 yr, or about 1,017 days.

The high eccentricity (0.489) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

Its inclination of 2.28° keeps it close to the plane of the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 36.1 km/s at perihelion and falls to 12.4 km/s at aphelion.

Size and surface

No direct size measurement is available; from an absolute magnitude of H = 25.07 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.03 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 187 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.2996 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
1.979 AU
Eccentricity
0.4894
Perihelion
1.011 AU
Aphelion
2.947523 AU
Inclination
2.28°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
12.56°

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
2037-May-24 09:24 0.277770 AU
41553836 km
16.45 km/s
2048-Sep-14 21:28 0.390824 AU
58466446 km
20.23 km/s
2062-Aug-19 06:23 0.022366 AU
3345977 km
9.34 km/s
2076-Jun-12 06:35 0.065207 AU
9754856 km
9.85 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
25.07

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.29959
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.

Keep exploring

Explore asteroids, comets and near-Earth objects with JPL orbital data.