2018 LH5

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2018 LH5

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 18,990,090 km of Earth in 2026
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2018 LH5 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2018 LH5 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 LH5 orbits the sun every 265 days (0.73 years), coming as close as 0.43 AU and reaching as far as 1.18 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2018 LH5 is probably between 0.101 to 0.225 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2018 LH5's orbit is 0.12 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 LH5 has 23 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
July 4, 2026 18,990,090 13.876
July 7, 2034 18,785,825 14.521
July 10, 2042 21,265,526 15.513
July 10, 2050 26,510,070 16.882
June 16, 2055 28,928,715 13.304
June 22, 2063 26,077,562 13.302
June 27, 2071 23,077,247 13.383
July 2, 2079 20,376,827 13.596
July 6, 2087 18,791,724 14.024
July 9, 2095 19,337,623 14.755
July 11, 2103 22,633,846 15.844
July 12, 2111 28,535,814 17.318
June 19, 2116 28,055,962 13.294
June 24, 2124 25,174,701 13.301
June 29, 2132 22,271,884 13.412
July 4, 2140 19,836,713 13.687
July 7, 2148 18,806,291 14.205
July 10, 2156 20,130,336 15.038
July 11, 2164 24,261,141 16.251
June 15, 2169 29,837,180 13.329
June 21, 2177 27,197,692 13.300
June 26, 2185 24,338,898 13.343
July 1, 2193 21,525,080 13.486

Images and Observations

2018 LH5's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 12, 2018. It was last officially observed on June 21, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 58 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 LH5:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8079 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4659
  • Inclination: 22.78°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 273.67°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 168.88°
  • Mean Anomaly: 274.28°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.130 km
  • Magnitude: 22.11

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 265 days (0.73 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 33.17 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.18 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.43 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2018 LH5 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 LH5 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.