2018 RW is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2018 RW 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 RW orbits the sun every 309 days (0.85 years), coming as close as 0.68 AU and reaching as far as 1.11 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2018 RW is probably between 0.001 to 0.006 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.
2018 RW's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is very close to Earth's orbit.
2018 RW has 6 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:
| Date | Distance from Earth (km) | Velocity (km/s) |
|---|---|---|
| June 2, 2023 | 9,958,797 | 7.852 |
| Sept. 9, 2029 | 8,111,399 | 7.506 |
| June 6, 2034 | 3,245,038 | 5.347 |
| Aug. 29, 2045 | 7,368,414 | 4.676 |
| June 2, 2050 | 15,379,039 | 9.024 |
| Sept. 4, 2056 | 3,603,582 | 5.299 |
2018 RW's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 7, 2018. It was last officially observed on Sept. 8, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 48 observations used to determine its orbit.
2018 RW can be reached with a journey of 346 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 6.994 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 273,043 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.
See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2018 RW.
The position of 2018 RW 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.