SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2018 VX1

2018 VX1

2018 VX1 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.366 AU it takes 1.60 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 97
Orbital Period · P
1.60 yr
v(q)
35.1 km/s
v(Q)
18.5 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.01 km
TJ
4.78
Eccentricity · e
0.3095

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.943 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.789 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.846 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.366 AU gives an orbital period of 1.60 yr, or about 583 days.

An eccentricity of 0.309 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

Its inclination of 2.79° keeps it close to the plane of the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 35.1 km/s at perihelion and falls to 18.5 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 = 27.5 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 97 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.4792 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 5 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
1.366 AU
Eccentricity
0.3095
Perihelion
0.943 AU
Aphelion
1.788777 AU
Inclination
2.79°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
248.68°

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-04 04:04 0.317760 AU
47536253 km
3.16 km/s
2034-Oct-16 11:27 0.239949 AU
35895890 km
13.49 km/s
2035-Mar-26 07:07 0.420609 AU
62922179 km
5.83 km/s
2042-Oct-08 21:06 0.370955 AU
55494005 km
17.64 km/s
2043-Apr-07 13:16 0.485787 AU
72672762 km
7.14 km/s
2054-Feb-27 11:55 0.403498 AU
60362501 km
20.29 km/s
2061-Aug-31 13:28 0.419070 AU
62691949 km
6.41 km/s
2062-Feb-20 09:52 0.232600 AU
34796502 km
16.23 km/s
2070-Feb-12 22:51 0.089025 AU
13318021 km
12.38 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
27.5

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.47918
Condition
5
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.

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