SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2018 GA

2018 GA

2018 GA belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.811 AU it takes 2.44 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 91
Orbital Period · P
2.44 yr
v(q)
36.1 km/s
v(Q)
13.6 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.32 km
TJ
3.83
Eccentricity · e
0.4542

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.988 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.634 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 1.646 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.811 AU gives an orbital period of 2.44 yr, or about 890 days.

The high eccentricity (0.454) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

A steep inclination of 23.95° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 36.1 km/s at perihelion and falls to 13.6 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 = 20.22 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.32 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 91 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.5159 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
1.811 AU
Eccentricity
0.4542
Perihelion
0.988 AU
Aphelion
2.633556 AU
Inclination
23.95°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
119.86°

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
20.22

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.5159
Condition
0
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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