2018 FB4

Very small Aten-class Asteroid   Near-Earth

Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2018 FB4

Key Facts

  • Classified as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus
  • Will pass within 59,750,219 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2018 FB4 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2018 FB4 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 collision.

2018 FB4 orbits the sun every 327 days (0.90 years), coming as close as 0.57 AU and reaching as far as 1.29 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2018 FB4 is probably between 0.01 to 0.02 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus.

Close Approaches

2018 FB4's orbit is 0.02 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.

2018 FB4 has 95 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 15, 2019 59,750,219 10.130
Sept. 24, 2019 53,520,244 15.696
July 14, 2020 50,626,430 18.708
March 31, 2026 53,436,388 23.609
March 31, 2027 36,215,672 10.493
Nov. 6, 2027 66,535,856 18.065
Aug. 20, 2028 41,519,491 13.126
March 22, 2035 14,758,642 16.245
Dec. 20, 2035 67,447,353 14.430
April 30, 2036 56,369,141 10.540
Oct. 6, 2036 58,175,382 16.803
July 22, 2037 42,482,849 16.041
April 5, 2043 69,699,875 26.889
March 21, 2044 22,168,718 11.023
Nov. 18, 2044 68,483,679 17.727
July 6, 2046 65,940,866 22.701
March 25, 2052 31,210,688 19.278
March 19, 2061 7,691,892 12.704
July 12, 2063 55,179,808 19.963
March 28, 2069 43,763,531 21.718
April 8, 2070 43,235,066 10.545
Oct. 29, 2070 64,852,920 17.972
Aug. 11, 2071 39,310,715 13.145
March 20, 2078 2,969,936 14.110
Dec. 9, 2078 68,768,489 15.918
May 12, 2079 59,353,369 10.247
Sept. 28, 2079 54,644,998 15.963
July 17, 2080 47,937,621 17.946
April 3, 2086 61,966,529 25.313
March 25, 2087 28,836,261 10.628
Nov. 13, 2087 67,769,226 17.922
Aug. 30, 2088 44,277,834 13.596
July 4, 2089 70,636,055 23.864
March 25, 2095 29,108,630 18.885
Jan. 4, 2096 63,815,001 11.772
April 18, 2096 50,846,321 10.617
Oct. 18, 2096 61,942,658 17.523
Aug. 1, 2097 38,726,897 14.059
March 20, 2104 4,831,147 13.145
Dec. 4, 2104 69,091,257 16.597
May 19, 2105 60,192,901 9.987
Sept. 22, 2105 52,409,509 15.443
July 15, 2106 52,881,627 19.352
March 31, 2112 49,061,849 22.762
April 4, 2113 39,536,734 10.487
Nov. 3, 2113 65,860,041 18.021
Aug. 18, 2114 40,326,789 13.086
March 22, 2121 9,973,030 15.420
Dec. 16, 2121 68,087,734 15.013
May 6, 2122 57,784,583 10.457
Oct. 5, 2122 56,878,328 16.479
July 22, 2123 44,200,601 16.741
April 5, 2129 66,877,178 26.317
March 23, 2130 24,691,589 10.845
Nov. 18, 2130 68,284,859 17.804
June 22, 2131 58,799,703 7.833
Sept. 5, 2131 45,655,491 13.874
July 6, 2132 67,437,123 23.101
March 26, 2138 30,871,980 19.229
Jan. 7, 2139 63,296,389 11.438
April 19, 2139 50,204,188 10.598
Oct. 21, 2139 62,256,692 17.568
Aug. 3, 2140 38,636,550 13.970
March 20, 2147 6,344,237 12.899
Dec. 3, 2147 69,163,405 16.759
May 22, 2148 60,370,973 9.882
Sept. 20, 2148 51,722,368 15.261
July 14, 2149 54,509,176 19.806
March 30, 2155 44,941,013 21.949
April 7, 2156 42,578,732 10.508
Oct. 30, 2156 65,039,636 17.970
Aug. 13, 2157 39,323,597 13.141
March 20, 2164 3,292,647 14.211
Dec. 10, 2164 68,737,118 15.812
May 12, 2165 59,373,817 10.274
Sept. 29, 2165 54,814,194 15.996
July 19, 2166 47,518,104 17.860
April 4, 2172 62,685,136 25.481
March 25, 2173 28,104,082 10.658
Nov. 15, 2173 67,903,070 17.861
Sept. 2, 2174 44,524,808 13.656
July 6, 2175 69,626,893 23.625
March 26, 2181 30,847,063 19.236
Jan. 8, 2182 63,122,719 11.323
April 19, 2182 50,089,235 10.589
Oct. 22, 2182 62,386,817 17.573
Aug. 5, 2183 38,486,628 13.877
March 21, 2190 2,642,723 13.566
Dec. 6, 2190 69,061,070 16.338
May 18, 2191 60,088,091 10.072
Sept. 25, 2191 53,029,286 15.583
July 16, 2192 51,617,455 19.020
April 1, 2198 50,482,393 23.030
April 4, 2199 38,809,606 10.483
Nov. 4, 2199 65,968,074 18.002

Images and Observations

2018 FB4's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 21, 2018. It was last officially observed on March 22, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 31 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 FB4:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2458600.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.929235275483 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.387341699999
  • Inclination: 17.2529858415°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 181.252401544°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 233.817348018°
  • Mean Anomaly: 164.883596318°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.01 km
  • Magnitude: 27.5

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 327 days (0.90 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 30.90 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.29 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.57 AU

Size Comparison

Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2018 FB4 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.