Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 27,230,018 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2018 RE3 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2018 RE3 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 RE3 orbits the sun every 558 days (1.53 years), coming as close as 0.81 AU and reaching as far as 1.84 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2018 RE3 is probably between 0.006 to 0.027 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2018 RE3'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 RE3 has 3 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Nov. 25, 2021 27,230,018 8.930
Feb. 3, 2025 5,948,925 11.123
Jan. 30, 2051 6,017,831 9.330

Images and Observations

2018 RE3's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 9, 2018. It was last officially observed on Sept. 13, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 45 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2018 RE3 can be reached with a journey of 370 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 10.793 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 375 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2018 RE3.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2018 RE3:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.326 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3909
  • Inclination: 2.26°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 176.49°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 246.32°
  • Mean Anomaly: 63.86°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.017 km
  • Magnitude: 27.3

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 558 days (1.53 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 25.85 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.84 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.81 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2018 RE3 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.