SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2018 AH

2018 AH

2018 AH belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 2.513 AU it takes 3.98 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 173
Orbital Period · P
3.98 yr
v(q)
39.9 km/s
v(Q)
8.9 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.1 km
TJ
3.12
Eccentricity · e
0.6363

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.914 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 4.112 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 3.198 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 2.513 AU gives an orbital period of 3.98 yr, or about 1,455 days.

The high eccentricity (0.636) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

The orbital plane is tilted 12.44° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 39.9 km/s at perihelion and falls to 8.9 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 = 22.68 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.1 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 173 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.5019 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
2.513 AU
Eccentricity
0.6363
Perihelion
0.914 AU
Aphelion
4.112022 AU
Inclination
12.44°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
47.25°

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
2029-Nov-25 14:51 0.155629 AU
23281813 km
11.48 km/s
2033-Nov-12 01:11 0.179422 AU
26841143 km
11.42 km/s
2037-Nov-08 02:54 0.186033 AU
27830143 km
11.53 km/s
2061-Nov-01 08:13 0.199264 AU
29809530 km
11.72 km/s
2065-Nov-01 01:23 0.199863 AU
29899024 km
11.72 km/s
2069-Nov-04 03:03 0.195001 AU
29171686 km
11.49 km/s
2073-Nov-17 18:50 0.167539 AU
25063410 km
11.00 km/s
2077-Nov-19 18:59 0.163276 AU
24425668 km
10.95 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
22.68

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.50193
Condition
0
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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