SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2026 EF

2026 EF

2026 EF belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.6 AU it takes 2.02 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 63
Orbital Period · P
2.02 yr
v(q)
57.4 km/s
v(Q)
9.7 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.05 km
TJ
4.03
Eccentricity · e
0.7117

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.461 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.739 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 2.278 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.6 AU gives an orbital period of 2.02 yr, or about 739 days.

The high eccentricity (0.712) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

Its inclination of 3.22° keeps it close to the plane of the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 57.4 km/s at perihelion and falls to 9.7 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 = 24.33 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.05 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 63 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.4565 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 8 signals a poorly constrained orbit, so its future path should be treated as provisional.

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
1.6 AU
Eccentricity
0.7117
Perihelion
0.461 AU
Aphelion
2.73872 AU
Inclination
3.22°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461106.5
Mean Anomaly
24.79°

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
2028-Mar-10 08:13 0.027555 AU
4122232 km
27.43 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
24.33

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.45649
Condition
8
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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