SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2018 JF

2018 JF

2018 JF belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.479 AU it takes 1.80 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 122
Orbital Period · P
1.80 yr
v(q)
44.8 km/s
v(Q)
13.4 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.18 km
TJ
4.4
Eccentricity · e
0.5394

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.681 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.277 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 1.596 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.479 AU gives an orbital period of 1.80 yr, or about 657 days.

The high eccentricity (0.539) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

The orbital plane is tilted 9.41° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 44.8 km/s at perihelion and falls to 13.4 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 = 21.44 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.18 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 122 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.3598 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
1.479 AU
Eccentricity
0.5394
Perihelion
0.681 AU
Aphelion
2.276773 AU
Inclination
9.41°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
215.76°

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-Apr-21 20:19 0.144080 AU
21554105 km
15.53 km/s
2028-Oct-27 10:10 0.192809 AU
28843828 km
19.86 km/s
2036-Apr-17 02:38 0.153927 AU
23027149 km
13.75 km/s
2045-Apr-14 23:44 0.168208 AU
25163624 km
12.78 km/s
2054-Apr-10 14:34 0.194433 AU
29086692 km
11.49 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
21.44

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.35983
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

Explore asteroids, comets and near-Earth objects with JPL orbital data.