SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2026 AF4

2026 AF4

2026 AF4 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.475 AU it takes 1.79 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 201
Orbital Period · P
1.79 yr
v(q)
35.8 km/s
v(Q)
16.8 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.2 km
TJ
4.51
Eccentricity · e
0.3601

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.944 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.006 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 1.062 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.475 AU gives an orbital period of 1.79 yr, or about 654 days.

An eccentricity of 0.36 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

The orbital plane is tilted 7.29° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 35.8 km/s at perihelion and falls to 16.8 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 = 21.3 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.2 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 201 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.5226 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
1.475 AU
Eccentricity
0.3601
Perihelion
0.944 AU
Aphelion
2.006148 AU
Inclination
7.29°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
25.27°

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
2035-Mar-17 20:53 0.060851 AU
9103230 km
7.08 km/s
2044-Feb-19 08:12 0.145495 AU
21765731 km
12.31 km/s
2069-Jun-10 17:51 0.190895 AU
28557487 km
11.45 km/s
2078-Apr-24 09:25 0.117796 AU
17622077 km
6.80 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
21.3

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.52256
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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