SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 208617

208617

208617 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.758 AU it takes 2.33 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 803
Orbital Period · P
2.33 yr
v(q)
51.8 km/s
v(Q)
9.7 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.94 km
TJ
3.8
Eccentricity · e
0.6839

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.556 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.96 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 2.404 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.758 AU gives an orbital period of 2.33 yr, or about 851 days.

The high eccentricity (0.684) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

The orbital plane is tilted 9.92° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 51.8 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 = 17.88 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.94 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 803 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.4757 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
1.758 AU
Eccentricity
0.6839
Perihelion
0.556 AU
Aphelion
2.960296 AU
Inclination
9.92°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
109.63°

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
2032-Nov-05 04:54 0.183324 AU
27424954 km
26.51 km/s
2039-Nov-04 22:09 0.167349 AU
25035071 km
25.88 km/s
2046-Nov-03 10:58 0.148514 AU
22217426 km
25.18 km/s
2053-Nov-02 18:34 0.142665 AU
21342447 km
24.89 km/s
2060-Nov-02 03:05 0.136846 AU
20471864 km
24.66 km/s
2067-Nov-03 11:41 0.143526 AU
21471226 km
24.90 km/s
2074-Nov-04 00:44 0.153002 AU
22888734 km
25.27 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
17.88

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.47572
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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