Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 16,956,313 km of Earth in 2032
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2018 BC is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2018 BC 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 BC orbits the sun every 392 days (1.07 years), coming as close as 0.97 AU and reaching as far as 1.12 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2018 BC is probably between 0.002 to 0.010 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2018 BC's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is very close to Earth's orbit.

2018 BC has 4 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 5, 2032 16,956,313 2.221
May 4, 2033 16,791,636 4.462
Jan. 22, 2047 1,661,091 1.972
June 16, 2070 12,917,199 2.030

NASA Sentry has assessed impact risk for 41 very close approach scenarios. Here are the top scenarios ordered by probability of impact:

Date Probability of Impact (%) Impact Energy (Mt)
Jan. 9, 2083 0.00057 0.0018
Jan. 11, 2097 0.00049 0.0018
Jan. 11, 2099 0.00042 0.001798
Jan. 12, 2109 0.00039 0.001797
Jan. 11, 2098 0.00038 0.001799
Jan. 10, 2089 0.00038 0.0018
Jan. 11, 2099 0.00034 0.0018
Jan. 10, 2090 0.00032 0.001799
Jan. 11, 2101 0.00032 0.001797
Jan. 10, 2091 0.00029 0.0018
Jan. 11, 2100 0.00028 0.001797
Jan. 11, 2092 0.00027 0.001798
Jan. 11, 2103 0.00023 0.001798
Jan. 11, 2101 0.00022 0.001797
Jan. 10, 2093 0.00021 0.0018
Jan. 11, 2107 0.00017 0.001797
Jan. 12, 2122 0.00016 0.001799
Jan. 11, 2102 0.00016 0.001798
Jan. 11, 2105 0.00016 0.001799
Jan. 10, 2098 0.00016 0.001797
Jan. 10, 2094 0.00013 0.0018
Jan. 11, 2104 0.00013 0.001798
Jan. 11, 2109 0.00012 0.001797
Jan. 11, 2106 0.00011 0.001797
Jan. 11, 2107 0.00010 0.001799
Jan. 10, 2105 0.00010 0.0018
Jan. 9, 2096 0.00009 0.001797
Jan. 12, 2111 0.00009 0.001799
Jan. 8, 2118 0.00008 0.001799
Jan. 11, 2108 0.00008 0.0018
Jan. 11, 2111 0.00008 0.001798
Jan. 12, 2112 0.00006 0.001798
Jan. 8, 2098 0.00005 0.001798
Jan. 10, 2099 0.00004 0.0018
Jan. 11, 2113 0.00004 0.001798
Jan. 9, 2102 0.00002 0.0018
Jan. 11, 2113 0.00002 0.001798
Jan. 11, 2114 0.00001 0.001799
Jan. 9, 2112 0.00001 0.001799
Jan. 9, 2121 0.00001 0.001799
Jan. 9, 2114 0.00001 0.001799

Images and Observations

2018 BC's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 17, 2018. It was last officially observed on Jan. 20, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 59 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2018 BC can be reached with a journey of 362 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 4.796 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 594,098 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2018 BC.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2018 BC:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.048 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.0697
  • Inclination: 2.86°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 297.21°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 212.83°
  • Mean Anomaly: 67.1°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.006 km
  • Magnitude: 29.4

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 392 days (1.07 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 29.08 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.12 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.97 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2018 BC 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.