Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 15,912,684 km of Earth in 2026
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2018 GE is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2018 GE 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 GE orbits the sun every 324 days (0.89 years), coming as close as 0.83 AU and reaching as far as 1.02 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2018 GE is probably between 0.006 to 0.025 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2018 GE's orbit is 0.01 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 GE has 8 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 25, 2026 15,912,684 1.910
June 7, 2026 6,267,595 3.094
Oct. 24, 2033 25,376,625 4.487
June 5, 2056 18,043,213 5.735
March 22, 2063 8,230,713 3.736
March 21, 2078 12,972,359 4.744
Dec. 27, 2085 20,562,449 3.240
June 7, 2086 15,621,602 5.221

NASA Sentry has assessed impact risk for 2 very close approach scenarios. Here are the top scenarios ordered by probability of impact:

Date Probability of Impact (%) Impact Energy (Mt)
May 23, 2111 0.00002 0.02513
June 17, 2111 0.00000 0.02512

Images and Observations

2018 GE's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 5, 2018. It was last officially observed on April 23, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 44 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2018 GE can be reached with a journey of 450 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 5.006 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 795,549 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

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

Similar Objects

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

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9233 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1046
  • Inclination: 1.24°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 164.77°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 242.52°
  • Mean Anomaly: 188.44°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.015 km
  • Magnitude: 27.5

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 324 days (0.89 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 31.00 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.02 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.83 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2018 GE 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.