2018 MJ7

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2018 MJ7

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 20,620,401 km of Earth in 2026
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2018 MJ7 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2018 MJ7 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 MJ7 orbits the sun every 419 days (1.15 years), coming as close as 0.64 AU and reaching as far as 1.55 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2018 MJ7 is probably between 0.062 to 0.139 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2018 MJ7's orbit is 0.07 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 MJ7 has 20 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 25, 2026 20,620,401 16.062
Nov. 21, 2039 16,619,050 14.710
Nov. 26, 2047 13,336,432 11.717
Dec. 3, 2055 24,662,844 8.322
June 16, 2073 19,547,477 9.454
June 19, 2081 11,001,921 12.052
June 25, 2089 18,742,459 15.623
Nov. 23, 2102 16,263,397 14.595
Nov. 29, 2110 15,056,471 10.945
Dec. 11, 2118 29,321,641 7.426
June 17, 2128 26,079,665 8.092
June 19, 2136 12,879,299 11.165
June 23, 2144 12,693,442 13.968
June 28, 2152 25,926,922 17.250
Nov. 19, 2157 26,079,653 17.168
Nov. 24, 2165 14,372,429 13.913
Nov. 29, 2173 15,245,658 10.880
Dec. 6, 2181 26,108,451 8.008
June 18, 2191 28,115,965 7.741
June 20, 2199 13,576,474 10.938

Images and Observations

2018 MJ7's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 22, 2018. It was last officially observed on July 17, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 71 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 MJ7:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.095 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4163
  • Inclination: 5.01°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 141.95°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 20.98°
  • Mean Anomaly: 260.89°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.080 km
  • Magnitude: 23.16

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 419 days (1.15 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.43 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.55 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.64 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2018 MJ7 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 MJ7 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.