SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2018 PD20

2018 PD20

2018 PD20 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.07 AU it takes 1.11 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 36
Orbital Period · P
1.11 yr
v(q)
40.1 km/s
v(Q)
20.7 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.01 km
TJ
5.71
Eccentricity · e
0.3202

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.727 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.413 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.686 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.07 AU gives an orbital period of 1.11 yr, or about 404 days.

An eccentricity of 0.32 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

The orbital plane is tilted 9.51° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 40.1 km/s at perihelion and falls to 20.7 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 = 27.4 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 36 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.5457 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 6 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
1.07 AU
Eccentricity
0.3202
Perihelion
0.727 AU
Aphelion
1.412614 AU
Inclination
9.51°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
89.97°

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-Feb-10 05:10 0.136501 AU
20420197 km
7.54 km/s
2027-Nov-06 09:07 0.460901 AU
68949882 km
9.35 km/s
2028-Jun-25 08:25 0.237632 AU
35549312 km
7.70 km/s
2028-Aug-22 01:25 0.242835 AU
36327540 km
6.61 km/s
2029-Aug-27 14:00 0.367941 AU
55043208 km
22.10 km/s
2037-Jan-22 18:28 0.047915 AU
7168031 km
13.21 km/s
2037-Nov-27 02:28 0.420533 AU
62910887 km
8.87 km/s
2038-May-11 04:39 0.311011 AU
46526642 km
10.45 km/s
2038-Sep-25 23:32 0.374301 AU
55994673 km
8.43 km/s
2039-Aug-18 08:09 0.126597 AU
18938699 km
15.69 km/s
2047-Jan-12 19:41 0.242976 AU
36348639 km
19.72 km/s
2047-Dec-23 09:06 0.314926 AU
47112198 km
7.57 km/s
2048-Oct-16 22:51 0.440245 AU
65859751 km
9.19 km/s
2049-Aug-08 17:01 0.000790 AU
118208 km
10.02 km/s
2058-Feb-05 01:49 0.118491 AU
17726060 km
8.11 km/s
2058-Nov-09 03:03 0.460165 AU
68839641 km
9.33 km/s
2059-Jun-17 23:18 0.256088 AU
38310242 km
8.35 km/s
2059-Aug-29 17:59 0.270131 AU
40410990 km
6.93 km/s
2060-Aug-26 01:05 0.330533 AU
49446966 km
21.20 km/s
2068-Jan-21 02:08 0.040762 AU
6097852 km
14.63 km/s
2070-Aug-15 19:28 0.002075 AU
310399 km
14.17 km/s
2078-Jan-08 14:09 0.206275 AU
30858265 km
22.37 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
27.4

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.54566
Condition
6
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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