154658 (2004 FA18)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 154658 (2004 FA18)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 22,992,924 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

154658 (2004 FA18) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2004 FA18 as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.

2004 FA18 orbits the sun every 419 days (1.15 years), coming as close as 0.60 AU and reaching as far as 1.60 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2004 FA18 is probably between 0.347 to 0.776 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

Close Approaches

2004 FA18's orbit is 0.15 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

2004 FA18 has 7 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 12, 2019 22,992,924 16.617
May 13, 2050 23,611,140 15.657
May 13, 2081 27,578,311 14.295
May 12, 2104 25,004,493 17.904
May 14, 2135 23,449,074 16.449
May 14, 2166 23,973,478 15.721
May 14, 2197 24,222,798 15.615

Images and Observations

2004 FA18's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 15, 1996. It was last officially observed on March 22, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 209 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

This asteroid is not considered a viable target for human exploration by the NHATS study.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2004 FA18:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.097 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4548
  • Inclination: 19.29°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 29.58°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 318.66°
  • Mean Anomaly: 217.97°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.448 km
  • Magnitude: 19.42

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 419 days (1.15 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.48 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.60 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.60 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 154658 (2004 FA18) is indicated by a ◯ pink circle. Note that the object may not be in your current field of view. Use the controls below to adjust position, location, and time.

Size Rendering

The below comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 2004 FA18 to create an approximate landscape rendering with New York City in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.