SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2015 YC18

2015 YC18

2015 YC18 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.368 AU it takes 1.60 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 15
Orbital Period · P
1.60 yr
v(q)
35.7 km/s
v(Q)
18.1 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.04 km
TJ
4.77
Eccentricity · e
0.3268

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.921 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.815 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.894 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.368 AU gives an orbital period of 1.60 yr, or about 584 days.

An eccentricity of 0.327 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

The orbital plane is tilted 5.42° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 35.7 km/s at perihelion and falls to 18.1 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

The measured diameter is 0.09 km, a value from direct size determination rather than from brightness alone.

Its geometric albedo of 0.02 indicates a very dark, carbonaceous-type surface.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 15 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.3965 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
1.368 AU
Eccentricity
0.3268
Perihelion
0.921 AU
Aphelion
1.815062 AU
Inclination
5.42°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
169.02°

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
0.086 km
Albedo
0.02
Density
— g/cm³
Rotation Period
— h
Absolute Magnitude
24.99

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.39651
Condition
7
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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