SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2018 LN4

2018 LN4

2018 LN4 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.305 AU it takes 1.49 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 90
Orbital Period · P
1.49 yr
v(q)
35.4 km/s
v(Q)
19.2 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.07 km
TJ
4.86
Eccentricity · e
0.296

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.919 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.691 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.772 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.305 AU gives an orbital period of 1.49 yr, or about 545 days.

An eccentricity of 0.296 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

A steep inclination of 24.06° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 35.4 km/s at perihelion and falls to 19.2 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 = 23.45 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.07 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 90 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.4362 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
1.305 AU
Eccentricity
0.296
Perihelion
0.919 AU
Aphelion
1.69128 AU
Inclination
24.06°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
88.93°

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-Jun-04 09:21 0.295472 AU
44201915 km
20.27 km/s
2030-May-30 12:49 0.401237 AU
60024153 km
22.76 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
23.45

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.43617
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

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