SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2018 KC4

2018 KC4

2018 KC4 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.013 AU it takes 1.02 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 9
Orbital Period · P
1.02 yr
v(q)
43.6 km/s
v(Q)
20.1 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.02 km
TJ
5.96
Eccentricity · e
0.3698

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.638 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.388 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.75 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.013 AU gives an orbital period of 1.02 yr, or about 372 days.

An eccentricity of 0.37 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

Its inclination of 2.01° keeps it close to the plane of the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 43.6 km/s at perihelion and falls to 20.1 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 = 26.27 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.02 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 9 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.6623 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
1.013 AU
Eccentricity
0.3698
Perihelion
0.638 AU
Aphelion
1.387607 AU
Inclination
2.01°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2458260.5
Mean Anomaly
288.66°

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
26.27

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.66235
Condition
8
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.

Keep exploring

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