SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2018 FA1

2018 FA1

2018 FA1 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.185 AU it takes 1.29 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 55
Orbital Period · P
1.29 yr
v(q)
40.1 km/s
v(Q)
18.6 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.08 km
TJ
5.17
Eccentricity · e
0.3657

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.752 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.618 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.866 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.185 AU gives an orbital period of 1.29 yr, or about 471 days.

An eccentricity of 0.366 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

A steep inclination of 29.41° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 40.1 km/s at perihelion and falls to 18.6 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 = 23.15 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.08 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 55 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.5449 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 8 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
1.185 AU
Eccentricity
0.3657
Perihelion
0.752 AU
Aphelion
1.618354 AU
Inclination
29.41°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2458197.5
Mean Anomaly
298.18°

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-Mar-29 08:51 0.164718 AU
24641409 km
15.26 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
23.15

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.54492
Condition
8
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.

Keep exploring

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