SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 312956

312956

312956 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.405 AU it takes 1.67 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 184
Orbital Period · P
1.67 yr
v(q)
46 km/s
v(Q)
13.7 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.45 km
TJ
4.57
Eccentricity · e
0.5409

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.645 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.165 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 1.52 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.405 AU gives an orbital period of 1.67 yr, or about 608 days.

The high eccentricity (0.541) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

The orbital plane is tilted 6.62° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 46 km/s at perihelion and falls to 13.7 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 = 19.49 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.45 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 184 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.5984 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
1.405 AU
Eccentricity
0.5409
Perihelion
0.645 AU
Aphelion
2.164965 AU
Inclination
6.62°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
308.7°

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

No close approaches to Earth are currently on record for this object.

Physical Parameters

Diameter
— km
Albedo
—
Density
— g/cm³
Rotation Period
— h
Absolute Magnitude
19.49

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.59836
Condition
0
Orbit ID
—
Data source: NASA JPL Small-Body Database . 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.

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