2018 KS is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2018 KS 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 KS orbits the sun every 369 days (1.01 years), coming as close as 0.80 AU and reaching as far as 1.21 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2018 KS is probably between 0.046 to 0.200 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.
2018 KS'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 KS has 14 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:
| Date | Distance from Earth (km) | Velocity (km/s) |
|---|---|---|
| May 23, 2019 | 8,176,806 | 6.478 |
| May 21, 2020 | 16,664,805 | 5.453 |
| May 7, 2021 | 25,095,200 | 5.176 |
| Oct. 30, 2028 | 25,133,712 | 6.060 |
| Nov. 18, 2029 | 17,826,402 | 5.859 |
| Nov. 29, 2030 | 10,175,437 | 6.638 |
| Dec. 4, 2031 | 6,205,540 | 7.860 |
| Dec. 7, 2032 | 11,278,976 | 9.392 |
| Dec. 11, 2033 | 20,230,193 | 11.150 |
| May 18, 2107 | 21,691,249 | 11.476 |
| May 20, 2108 | 12,170,097 | 9.740 |
| May 22, 2109 | 3,376,935 | 8.253 |
| May 23, 2110 | 2,760,667 | 7.291 |
| May 24, 2111 | 11,447,068 | 6.030 |
2018 KS's orbit is determined by observations dating back to May 17, 2018. It was last officially observed on May 21, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 54 observations used to determine its orbit.
2018 KS can be reached with a journey of 362 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 9.452 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 73,477 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.
See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2018 KS.
The position of 2018 KS 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.