SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2014 RW18

2014 RW18

2014 RW18 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.668 AU it takes 2.15 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 51
Orbital Period · P
2.15 yr
v(q)
35.3 km/s
v(Q)
15.1 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.02 km
TJ
4.15
Eccentricity · e
0.4011

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.999 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.337 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 1.338 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.668 AU gives an orbital period of 2.15 yr, or about 787 days.

The high eccentricity (0.401) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

The orbital plane is tilted 7.72° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 35.3 km/s at perihelion and falls to 15.1 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 = 25.9 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.02 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 51 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.387 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 7 signals a poorly constrained orbit, so its future path should be treated as provisional.

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
1.668 AU
Eccentricity
0.4011
Perihelion
0.999 AU
Aphelion
2.337035 AU
Inclination
7.72°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
149.17°

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-Aug-11 00:36 0.272813 AU
40812177 km
18.94 km/s
2070-Nov-25 09:17 0.299752 AU
44842237 km
14.54 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
25.9

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.38701
Condition
7
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.

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