2018 AH

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2018 AH

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 4,684,017 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2018 AH is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2018 AH 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.

2018 AH orbits the sun every 1,460 days (4.00 years), coming as close as 0.91 AU and reaching as far as 4.12 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2018 AH is probably between 0.077 to 0.173 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2018 AH's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2018 AH has 18 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 27, 2021 4,684,017 12.685
Dec. 18, 2025 12,496,532 11.837
Nov. 25, 2029 23,282,162 11.477
Nov. 12, 2033 26,841,550 11.424
Nov. 8, 2037 27,830,570 11.526
Nov. 1, 2061 29,810,041 11.722
Nov. 1, 2065 29,899,549 11.715
Nov. 4, 2069 29,172,226 11.493
Nov. 17, 2073 25,063,949 10.997
Nov. 19, 2077 24,426,227 10.947
Nov. 21, 2081 23,671,216 10.839
Dec. 3, 2085 18,889,672 10.772
Dec. 2, 2089 19,435,601 10.781
Nov. 30, 2093 20,463,713 10.730
Dec. 5, 2097 18,019,301 10.732
Nov. 29, 2101 21,219,714 10.776
Nov. 18, 2105 25,169,294 10.902
Nov. 16, 2109 25,889,090 10.952

Images and Observations

2018 AH's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 3, 2018. It was last officially observed on Jan. 29, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 155 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 2018 AH:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.515 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6363
  • Inclination: 12.43°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 101.15°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 323.02°
  • Mean Anomaly: 160.15°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.100 km
  • Magnitude: 22.68

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,460 days (4.00 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 18.74 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 4.12 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.91 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2018 AH 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 2018 AH 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.