SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 76P

West-Kohoutek-Ikemura

West-Kohoutek-Ikemura follows a distinctly cometary orbit: an eccentricity of 0.539 carries it from 1.6 AU at perihelion out to 5.34 AU at aphelion.

comet Observations: 963
Orbital Period · P
6.46 yr
v(q)
29.2 km/s
v(Q)
8.8 km/s
TJ
2.69
Eccentricity · e
0.5389

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 1.6 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 5.34 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 3.74 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 3.47 AU gives an orbital period of 6.46 yr, or about 2,361 days.

The high eccentricity (0.539) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

A steep inclination of 30.48° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 29.2 km/s at perihelion and falls to 8.8 km/s at aphelion.

Its Tisserand parameter with respect to Jupiter is T_J = 2.69, a standard discriminator between asteroidal and cometary dynamics.

Size and surface

The measured diameter is 0.66 km, a value from direct size determination rather than from brightness alone.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 963 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.8285 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
3.47 AU
Eccentricity
0.5389
Perihelion
1.6 AU
Aphelion
5.339983 AU
Inclination
30.48°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2456259.5
Mean Anomaly
335.49°

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

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.82853
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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