SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2018 BP3

2018 BP3

2018 BP3 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.15 AU it takes 1.23 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 46
Orbital Period · P
1.23 yr
v(q)
36.1 km/s
v(Q)
21.3 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.01 km
TJ
5.43
Eccentricity · e
0.258

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.854 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.447 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.593 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.15 AU gives an orbital period of 1.23 yr, or about 450 days.

An eccentricity of 0.258 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

Its inclination of 1.42° keeps it close to the plane of the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 36.1 km/s at perihelion and falls to 21.3 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 = 28.79 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.01 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 46 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.617 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 6 indicates a moderately constrained orbit; predictions decades ahead still carry noticeable uncertainty.

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
1.15 AU
Eccentricity
0.258
Perihelion
0.854 AU
Aphelion
1.4467 AU
Inclination
1.42°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
330.36°

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-09 02:02 0.289977 AU
43379952 km
16.05 km/s
2028-Apr-25 23:35 0.428960 AU
64171561 km
8.09 km/s
2033-May-29 05:36 0.416278 AU
62274282 km
7.85 km/s
2034-Feb-03 19:50 0.210812 AU
31537015 km
14.24 km/s
2038-Jul-09 05:09 0.285358 AU
42688893 km
5.62 km/s
2043-Aug-23 16:42 0.015083 AU
2256383 km
8.44 km/s
2044-Apr-03 18:01 0.371281 AU
55542906 km
7.32 km/s
2048-Jul-30 09:17 0.494157 AU
73924761 km
21.48 km/s
2049-May-12 10:41 0.434894 AU
65059174 km
8.14 km/s
2050-Feb-13 22:01 0.430849 AU
64454094 km
20.27 km/s
2054-Jun-21 16:15 0.346430 AU
51825156 km
6.78 km/s
2055-Jan-19 08:53 0.002887 AU
431854 km
6.57 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
28.79

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.61703
Condition
6
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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