SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2018 KD3

2018 KD3

2018 KD3 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.561 AU it takes 1.95 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 49
Orbital Period · P
1.95 yr
v(q)
60.3 km/s
v(Q)
9.4 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.25 km
TJ
4
Eccentricity · e
0.7297

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.422 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.7 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 2.278 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.561 AU gives an orbital period of 1.95 yr, or about 712 days.

The high eccentricity (0.73) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

A steep inclination of 27.08° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 60.3 km/s at perihelion and falls to 9.4 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 = 20.79 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.25 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 49 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.4727 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 6 indicates a moderately constrained orbit; predictions decades ahead still carry noticeable uncertainty.

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
1.561 AU
Eccentricity
0.7297
Perihelion
0.422 AU
Aphelion
2.700062 AU
Inclination
27.08°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
74.74°

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-Nov-29 11:45 0.446193 AU
66749525 km
21.38 km/s
2029-Oct-27 15:30 0.214509 AU
32090128 km
23.23 km/s
2031-Oct-10 09:57 0.186428 AU
27889289 km
30.54 km/s
2033-Sep-24 21:54 0.385489 AU
57668307 km
38.49 km/s
2055-May-30 23:15 0.236535 AU
35385190 km
35.58 km/s
2057-May-15 11:27 0.130130 AU
19467166 km
27.67 km/s
2059-Apr-27 14:27 0.213804 AU
31984594 km
20.55 km/s
2070-Oct-16 05:26 0.167376 AU
25039099 km
27.59 km/s
2072-Sep-29 21:34 0.258452 AU
38663914 km
35.58 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
20.79

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.47265
Condition
6
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.

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