Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 8,173,806 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

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 0.81 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 0.005 to 0.020 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

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 8,173,806 6.478
May 21, 2020 16,659,296 5.454
May 7, 2021 25,088,345 5.175
Oct. 30, 2028 25,147,556 6.061
Nov. 18, 2029 17,845,743 5.858
Nov. 29, 2030 10,194,155 6.635
Dec. 4, 2031 6,203,610 7.855
Dec. 7, 2032 11,251,550 9.386
Dec. 11, 2033 20,193,943 11.143
May 18, 2107 21,832,063 11.502
May 19, 2108 12,305,666 9.763
May 22, 2109 3,493,705 8.272
May 23, 2110 2,751,217 7.293
May 24, 2111 11,557,631 6.015

Images and Observations

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.

Accessibility and Exploration

2018 KS can be reached with a journey of 362 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 9.451 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 73,531 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

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

Similar Objects

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

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.007 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1999
  • Inclination: 8.86°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 59.34°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 284.78°
  • Mean Anomaly: 13.22°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.012 km
  • Magnitude: 27.9

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 369 days (1.01 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 29.69 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.21 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.81 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

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.