SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 68950

68950

68950 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.057 AU it takes 1.09 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 2,954
Orbital Period · P
1.09 yr
v(q)
41.5 km/s
v(Q)
20.2 km/s
Diameter · ≈
1.87 km
TJ
5.69
Eccentricity · e
0.3443

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.693 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.421 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.728 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.057 AU gives an orbital period of 1.09 yr, or about 397 days.

An eccentricity of 0.344 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

A steep inclination of 25.15° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 41.5 km/s at perihelion and falls to 20.2 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 1.65 km, a value from direct size determination rather than from brightness alone.

A geometric albedo of 0.178 points to a comparatively bright, reflective surface.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 2,954 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.3481 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
1.057 AU
Eccentricity
0.3443
Perihelion
0.693 AU
Aphelion
1.420925 AU
Inclination
25.15°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
238.74°

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
1.65 km
Albedo
0.178
Density
— g/cm³
Rotation Period
— h
Absolute Magnitude
16.39

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.34812
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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