SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2018 VA1

2018 VA1

2018 VA1 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.373 AU it takes 1.61 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 20
Orbital Period · P
1.61 yr
v(q)
33.6 km/s
v(Q)
19.2 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.01 km
TJ
4.76
Eccentricity · e
0.2717

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 1 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.746 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.746 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.373 AU gives an orbital period of 1.61 yr, or about 588 days.

An eccentricity of 0.272 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

The orbital plane is tilted 12.4° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 33.6 km/s at perihelion and falls to 19.2 km/s at aphelion.

Size and surface

No direct size measurement is available; from an absolute magnitude of H = 26.9 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 20 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.4376 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 7 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
1.373 AU
Eccentricity
0.2717
Perihelion
1.0 AU
Aphelion
1.746044 AU
Inclination
12.4°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
249.06°

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
26.9

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.43759
Condition
7
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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