SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2018 SD2

2018 SD2

2018 SD2 is an Aten-type near-Earth asteroid whose orbit lies mostly inside that of Earth, with a semi-major axis of 0.93 AU and a period of 0.90 yr.

Aten Observations: 18
Orbital Period · P
0.90 yr
v(q)
34.5 km/s
v(Q)
27.6 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.01 km
TJ
6.43
Eccentricity · e
0.1113

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.827 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.034 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.207 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 0.93 AU gives an orbital period of 0.90 yr, or about 328 days.

An eccentricity of 0.111 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

Its inclination of 3.68° keeps it close to the plane of the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 34.5 km/s at perihelion and falls to 27.6 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 = 28.6 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.01 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 18 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.4441 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
0.9302 AU
Eccentricity
0.1113
Perihelion
0.827 AU
Aphelion
1.033731 AU
Inclination
3.68°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
81.92°

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-Mar-15 20:46 0.150147 AU
22461621 km
4.48 km/s
2027-Sep-28 05:03 0.147040 AU
21996845 km
7.54 km/s
2035-Jul-07 21:53 0.152530 AU
22818192 km
7.35 km/s
2036-Jan-23 19:29 0.159510 AU
23862392 km
4.31 km/s
2036-Sep-19 16:26 0.331252 AU
49554628 km
13.32 km/s
2063-Sep-17 03:34 0.197673 AU
29571387 km
14.90 km/s
2071-Jul-09 00:43 0.059637 AU
8921612 km
10.81 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
28.6

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.44414
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.

Keep exploring

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