2016 TB18

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2016 TB18

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 21,060,373 km of Earth in 2026
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2016 TB18 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2016 TB18 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.

2016 TB18 orbits the sun every 409 days (1.12 years), coming as close as 0.99 AU and reaching as far as 1.17 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2016 TB18 is probably between 0.019 to 0.085 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2016 TB18's orbit is 0.01 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.

2016 TB18 has 26 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
July 5, 2026 21,060,373 2.580
Oct. 10, 2035 18,491,956 2.429
March 31, 2036 21,862,754 5.728
Dec. 30, 2044 18,609,862 4.932
June 8, 2045 17,656,448 1.989
Sept. 25, 2054 20,427,157 2.729
April 4, 2055 29,338,595 7.214
Dec. 31, 2063 19,357,223 5.082
June 10, 2064 17,871,574 2.043
Oct. 12, 2073 17,968,630 2.350
March 31, 2074 20,461,101 5.446
Dec. 26, 2082 29,754,544 7.210
July 4, 2083 20,846,432 2.548
Oct. 22, 2092 16,596,309 2.118
March 29, 2093 16,381,046 4.638
Dec. 29, 2101 23,363,095 5.910
June 20, 2102 19,282,633 2.274
Sept. 24, 2111 20,790,987 2.771
Jan. 3, 2121 13,130,054 3.780
May 25, 2121 15,186,706 1.549
Oct. 14, 2130 17,654,032 2.301
April 1, 2131 19,679,878 5.287
July 16, 2140 21,934,590 2.776
Nov. 23, 2149 11,917,778 1.154
March 23, 2150 6,537,585 2.680
March 18, 2159 2,951,794 1.997

Images and Observations

2016 TB18's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 7, 2016. It was last officially observed on April 21, 2017. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 99 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2016 TB18 can be reached with a journey of 362 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 5.392 km/s. To put this into perspective, the delta-v to launch a rocket to Low-Earth Orbit is 9.7 km/s. There are 957,617 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2016 TB18.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2016 TB18:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.078 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.0842
  • Inclination: 1.53°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 190.3°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 305.7°
  • Mean Anomaly: 318.6°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.052 km
  • Magnitude: 24.8

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 409 days (1.12 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.67 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.17 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.99 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2016 TB18 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 2016 TB18 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.