2018 FO5

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2018 FO5

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 23,473,653 km of Earth in 2033
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2018 FO5 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2018 FO5 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2018 FO5 orbits the sun every 781 days (2.14 years), coming as close as 0.94 AU and reaching as far as 2.38 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2018 FO5 is probably between 0.208 to 0.466 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2018 FO5's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2018 FO5 has 10 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Aug. 4, 2033 23,473,653 9.017
July 4, 2048 20,823,476 8.564
June 17, 2063 16,852,718 8.567
June 4, 2078 12,111,360 8.762
June 4, 2093 12,237,523 8.744
June 22, 2108 18,154,766 8.580
July 26, 2123 22,819,668 8.557
Aug. 22, 2138 26,576,613 11.190
May 10, 2181 14,783,879 12.903
May 14, 2196 7,123,198 11.540

Images and Observations

2018 FO5's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 12, 2014. It was last officially observed on Oct. 18, 2018. 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 FO5:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.66 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4347
  • Inclination: 9.13°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 236.95°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 41.31°
  • Mean Anomaly: 147.61°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.269 km
  • Magnitude: 20.53

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 781 days (2.14 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.12 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.38 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.94 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2018 FO5 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 FO5 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.