SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2018 BW

2018 BW

2018 BW belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.349 AU it takes 1.57 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 28
Orbital Period · P
1.57 yr
v(q)
34.5 km/s
v(Q)
19.1 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.01 km
TJ
4.82
Eccentricity · e
0.2886

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.96 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.738 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.778 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.349 AU gives an orbital period of 1.57 yr, or about 572 days.

An eccentricity of 0.289 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

The orbital plane is tilted 8° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 34.5 km/s at perihelion and falls to 19.1 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 = 28.1 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 28 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.4735 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
1.349 AU
Eccentricity
0.2886
Perihelion
0.96 AU
Aphelion
1.738321 AU
Inclination
8.0°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
142.19°

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
— km
Albedo
—
Density
— g/cm³
Rotation Period
— h
Absolute Magnitude
28.1

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.47347
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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