2018 MG7

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2018 MG7

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 25,438,701 km of Earth in 2025
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2018 MG7 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2018 MG7 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2018 MG7 orbits the sun every 318 days (0.87 years), coming as close as 0.61 AU and reaching as far as 1.21 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2018 MG7 is probably between 0.140 to 0.313 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2018 MG7's orbit is 0.02 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 MG7 has 14 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 20, 2025 25,438,701 18.476
June 23, 2045 15,274,928 13.519
June 23, 2052 5,929,218 15.556
June 20, 2059 27,967,775 18.862
June 24, 2079 13,746,816 13.659
June 23, 2086 7,434,210 15.757
June 25, 2113 10,501,065 13.936
June 23, 2120 11,154,717 16.302
June 22, 2140 28,041,161 12.820
June 25, 2147 6,848,061 14.339
June 23, 2154 14,671,915 16.798
June 23, 2174 26,105,831 12.900
June 25, 2181 5,219,127 14.539
June 23, 2188 16,872,202 17.137

Images and Observations

2018 MG7's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 20, 2018. It was last officially observed on March 27, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 163 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 MG7:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9124 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3273
  • Inclination: 25.11°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 270.55°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 132.29°
  • Mean Anomaly: 260.36°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.181 km
  • Magnitude: 21.39

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 318 days (0.87 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 31.21 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.21 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.61 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2018 MG7 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 MG7 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.