Orbit and dynamics
The path is an ellipse reaching 0.94 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 5.182 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 4.242 AU.
Applying Kepler's third law to a = 3.061 AU gives an orbital period of 5.36 yr, or about 1,956 days.
The high eccentricity (0.693) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.
The orbital plane is tilted 11.4° relative to the ecliptic.
By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 40 km/s at perihelion and falls to 7.2 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 = 2.78, 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 44 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.9758 arcseconds.
Condition code U = 1 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
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 distance | Velocity |
|---|---|---|
| 2054-Aug-08 21:25 | 0.118197 AU 17682061 km |
15.33 km/s |
| 2070-May-26 20:28 | 0.085090 AU 12729281 km |
12.02 km/s |
Distances in astronomical units (AU) and kilometres. Source: NASA/JPL CNEOS Close Approach Data API.
Physical Parameters
Orbit Quality
Related Objects
Same object type
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