SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2018 SQ3

2018 SQ3

2018 SQ3 is an Amor-type near-Earth asteroid that approaches Earth from beyond our orbit without crossing it, orbiting the Sun at 1.567 AU once every 1.96 yr.

Amor Observations: 59
Orbital Period · P
1.96 yr
v(q)
31 km/s
v(Q)
18.3 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.12 km
TJ
4.27
Eccentricity · e
0.2572

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 1.164 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.97 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.806 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.567 AU gives an orbital period of 1.96 yr, or about 716 days.

An eccentricity of 0.257 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

A steep inclination of 26.25° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 31 km/s at perihelion and falls to 18.3 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 = 22.32 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.12 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 59 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.4503 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 1 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
1.567 AU
Eccentricity
0.2572
Perihelion
1.164 AU
Aphelion
1.970032 AU
Inclination
26.25°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
312.7°

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
2067-Oct-02 08:11 0.369635 AU
55296611 km
14.11 km/s
2069-Oct-03 20:46 0.206363 AU
30871400 km
13.63 km/s
2071-Oct-03 23:50 0.229940 AU
34398557 km
14.56 km/s
2073-Oct-01 21:11 0.413953 AU
61926466 km
17.07 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
22.32

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.45028
Condition
1
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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