SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2018 PC

2018 PC

2018 PC belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.031 AU it takes 1.05 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 55
Orbital Period · P
1.05 yr
v(q)
31.6 km/s
v(Q)
27.2 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.06 km
TJ
5.89
Eccentricity · e
0.075

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.954 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.108 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.154 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.031 AU gives an orbital period of 1.05 yr, or about 382 days.

With e = 0.075, the orbit is close to circular.

The orbital plane is tilted 18.05° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 31.6 km/s at perihelion and falls to 27.2 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 = 23.9 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.06 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 55 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.4414 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 2 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
1.031 AU
Eccentricity
0.075
Perihelion
0.954 AU
Aphelion
1.108325 AU
Inclination
18.05°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
81.48°

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
23.9

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.44139
Condition
2
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.

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