SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 495960

495960

495960 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.846 AU it takes 2.51 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 454
Orbital Period · P
2.51 yr
v(q)
44.8 km/s
v(Q)
10.7 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.61 km
TJ
3.72
Eccentricity · e
0.6132

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.714 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.978 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 2.264 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.846 AU gives an orbital period of 2.51 yr, or about 916 days.

The high eccentricity (0.613) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

The orbital plane is tilted 16.65° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 44.8 km/s at perihelion and falls to 10.7 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 = 18.83 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.61 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 454 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.4298 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
1.846 AU
Eccentricity
0.6132
Perihelion
0.714 AU
Aphelion
2.977967 AU
Inclination
16.65°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
171.76°

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
2027-Sep-24 21:28 0.331833 AU
49641480 km
17.11 km/s
2032-Oct-09 07:46 0.312205 AU
46705248 km
17.57 km/s
2037-Oct-23 11:28 0.283166 AU
42361035 km
17.42 km/s
2042-Nov-06 15:58 0.244904 AU
36637105 km
16.94 km/s
2047-Nov-22 23:43 0.196658 AU
29419565 km
16.78 km/s
2052-Dec-05 22:26 0.167250 AU
25020288 km
17.95 km/s
2057-Dec-16 21:10 0.190876 AU
28554621 km
20.38 km/s
2062-Dec-26 03:01 0.271456 AU
40609313 km
23.65 km/s
2068-Jan-03 14:18 0.382549 AU
57228571 km
27.40 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
18.83

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.42981
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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