SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 303248

303248

303248 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.769 AU it takes 2.35 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 529
Orbital Period · P
2.35 yr
v(q)
43.1 km/s
v(Q)
11.6 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.88 km
TJ
3.78
Eccentricity · e
0.5743

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.753 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.785 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 2.032 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.769 AU gives an orbital period of 2.35 yr, or about 859 days.

The high eccentricity (0.574) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

A steep inclination of 28.49° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 43.1 km/s at perihelion and falls to 11.6 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

The measured diameter is 0.82 km, a value from direct size determination rather than from brightness alone.

Its geometric albedo of 0.084 indicates a very dark, carbonaceous-type surface.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 529 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.5731 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
1.769 AU
Eccentricity
0.5743
Perihelion
0.753 AU
Aphelion
2.784937 AU
Inclination
28.49°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
116.79°

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
2063-Mar-24 19:17 0.128318 AU
19196116 km
23.02 km/s

Distances in astronomical units (AU) and kilometres. Source: NASA/JPL CNEOS Close Approach Data API.

Physical Parameters

Diameter
0.817 km
Albedo
0.084
Density
— g/cm³
Rotation Period
— h
Absolute Magnitude
18.02

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.57314
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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