SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2018 SL3

2018 SL3

2018 SL3 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.58 AU it takes 1.99 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 53
Orbital Period · P
1.99 yr
v(q)
42.4 km/s
v(Q)
13.2 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.04 km
TJ
4.23
Eccentricity · e
0.5238

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.752 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.408 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 1.656 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.58 AU gives an orbital period of 1.99 yr, or about 725 days.

The high eccentricity (0.524) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

Its inclination of 4.07° keeps it close to the plane of the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 42.4 km/s at perihelion and falls to 13.2 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 = 24.5 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.04 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 53 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.4001 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 8 signals a poorly constrained orbit, so its future path should be treated as provisional.

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
1.58 AU
Eccentricity
0.5238
Perihelion
0.752 AU
Aphelion
2.407604 AU
Inclination
4.07°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2458395.5
Mean Anomaly
330.26°

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
24.5

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.40014
Condition
8
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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