Schwassmann-Wachmann

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.94 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 5.029 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 4.089 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 2.984 AU gives an orbital period of 5.15 yr, or about 1,883 days.

The high eccentricity (0.685) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

The orbital plane is tilted 11.32° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 39.9 km/s at perihelion and falls to 7.5 km/s at aphelion.

Because q < 1 AU and Q > 1 AU, this orbit geometrically intersects the region of Earth's orbit.

Its Tisserand parameter with respect to Jupiter is T_J = 2.83, a standard discriminator between asteroidal and cometary dynamics.

Size and surface

Neither a measured diameter nor a reliable absolute magnitude is available for Schwassmann-Wachmann, so its physical size remains unconstrained.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 20 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.7134 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 8 signals a poorly constrained orbit, so its future path should be treated as provisional.