SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2018 MN8

2018 MN8

2018 MN8 is an Aten-type near-Earth asteroid whose orbit lies mostly inside that of Earth, with a semi-major axis of 0.848 AU and a period of 0.78 yr.

Aten Observations: 36
Orbital Period · P
0.78 yr
v(q)
75.2 km/s
v(Q)
13.9 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.09 km
TJ
6.71
Eccentricity · e
0.6875

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.265 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.43 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 1.165 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 0.848 AU gives an orbital period of 0.78 yr, or about 285 days.

The high eccentricity (0.688) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

The orbital plane is tilted 12.38° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 75.2 km/s at perihelion and falls to 13.9 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 = 22.88 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.09 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 36 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.6162 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 0 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
0.8476 AU
Eccentricity
0.6875
Perihelion
0.265 AU
Aphelion
1.430325 AU
Inclination
12.38°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
150.56°

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
2032-Jun-27 20:28 0.156010 AU
23338742 km
25.06 km/s
2037-Sep-03 03:45 0.192156 AU
28746185 km
21.89 km/s
2044-Sep-04 20:43 0.196278 AU
29362767 km
18.27 km/s
2050-Jun-23 19:25 0.133224 AU
19930035 km
17.52 km/s
2057-Jun-23 23:17 0.049714 AU
7437159 km
20.40 km/s
2064-Jun-26 20:25 0.122552 AU
18333564 km
23.97 km/s
2076-Sep-04 22:06 0.187226 AU
28008579 km
19.20 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
22.88

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.61623
Condition
0
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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