2018 LD16
2018 LD16 is an Amor-type near-Earth asteroid that approaches Earth from beyond our orbit without crossing it, orbiting the Sun at 2.125 AU once every 3.10 yr.
Orbit and dynamics
Between its closest point (1.292 AU) and its farthest (2.957 AU), the heliocentric distance changes by 1.665 AU over every revolution.
One full revolution takes 3.10 yr (1,131 days), computed from the semi-major axis of 2.125 AU.
An eccentricity of 0.392 makes the orbit moderately elongated.
Its inclination of 4.31° keeps it close to the plane of the ecliptic.
By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 30.9 km/s at perihelion and falls to 13.5 km/s at aphelion.
Its perihelion lies just outside Earth's orbit, which is why it is classed as Earth-approaching rather than Earth-crossing.
Size and surface
No direct size measurement is available; from an absolute magnitude of H = 21.83 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.15 km.
Observation record and orbit quality
Astrometry from 70 individual observations underpins this orbit; the fit leaves an RMS residual of 0.5245 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
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 distance | Velocity |
|---|---|---|
| 2052-Jul-11 18:58 | 0.280959 AU 42030798 km |
2.64 km/s |
Distances in astronomical units (AU) and kilometres. Source: NASA/JPL CNEOS Close Approach Data API.
