2018 BU1

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2018 BU1

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 8,618,522 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2018 BU1 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2018 BU1 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 BU1 orbits the sun every 735 days (2.01 years), coming as close as 0.86 AU and reaching as far as 2.33 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2018 BU1 is probably between 0.032 to 0.071 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2018 BU1'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 BU1 has 21 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Feb. 3, 2020 8,618,522 9.813
Feb. 17, 2022 17,150,919 8.936
March 9, 2024 23,047,201 9.120
March 29, 2026 25,070,954 9.204
April 18, 2028 23,695,864 8.719
May 10, 2030 18,864,865 8.877
May 21, 2032 14,973,244 10.700
May 29, 2034 17,534,536 12.929
June 3, 2036 26,933,917 15.494
Jan. 14, 2153 28,367,811 16.951
Jan. 20, 2155 15,573,773 14.376
Jan. 26, 2157 4,518,190 12.170
Jan. 30, 2159 2,991,409 10.909
Feb. 10, 2161 12,887,425 9.202
March 3, 2163 21,089,037 8.926
March 25, 2165 25,013,233 9.244
April 18, 2167 24,092,000 8.775
May 11, 2169 19,039,077 8.773
May 25, 2171 14,350,939 10.829
June 1, 2173 18,509,263 13.398
June 8, 2175 29,267,786 16.107

Images and Observations

2018 BU1's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 9, 2018. It was last officially observed on Jan. 24, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 109 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 BU1:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.594 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4622
  • Inclination: 6.37°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 302.88°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 238.15°
  • Mean Anomaly: 267.64°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.041 km
  • Magnitude: 24.6

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 735 days (2.01 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.59 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.33 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.86 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2018 BU1 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 BU1 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.