SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2018 FQ4

2018 FQ4

2018 FQ4 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.709 AU it takes 2.23 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 71
Orbital Period · P
2.23 yr
v(q)
37.9 km/s
v(Q)
13.7 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.01 km
TJ
4.06
Eccentricity · e
0.4686

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.908 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.51 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 1.602 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.709 AU gives an orbital period of 2.23 yr, or about 816 days.

The high eccentricity (0.469) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

Its inclination of 0.26° keeps it close to the plane of the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 37.9 km/s at perihelion and falls to 13.7 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 = 27.08 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 71 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.5304 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
1.709 AU
Eccentricity
0.4686
Perihelion
0.908 AU
Aphelion
2.509837 AU
Inclination
0.26°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
259.65°

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
2026-Dec-19 00:36 0.042853 AU
6410656 km
10.41 km/s
2047-Mar-25 00:46 0.044481 AU
6654251 km
10.46 km/s
2055-Dec-23 09:02 0.014827 AU
2218160 km
9.55 km/s
2075-Dec-12 06:59 0.123327 AU
18449437 km
12.99 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
27.08

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.53041
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.

Keep exploring

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