Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 25,070,807 km of Earth in 2022
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2018 VZ6 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2018 VZ6 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 VZ6 orbits the sun every 384 days (1.05 years), coming as close as 0.70 AU and reaching as far as 1.37 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2018 VZ6 is probably between 0.018 to 0.040 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2018 VZ6'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 VZ6 has 12 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 13, 2022 25,070,807 7.831
June 12, 2023 27,988,368 14.980
Nov. 10, 2038 7,346,541 11.739
June 8, 2043 19,005,405 12.915
Nov. 13, 2059 16,270,012 7.926
May 28, 2063 15,774,469 9.067
Nov. 11, 2079 4,675,154 11.110
Nov. 13, 2100 5,977,290 9.708
Nov. 9, 2120 16,665,064 13.580
June 5, 2125 14,062,308 11.197
Nov. 14, 2141 9,152,560 9.100
Nov. 12, 2161 6,620,552 11.546

Images and Observations

2018 VZ6's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 1, 2018. It was last officially observed on Nov. 11, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 28 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 VZ6:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.034 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3236
  • Inclination: 9.22°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 221.77°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 290.59°
  • Mean Anomaly: 148.67°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.023 km
  • Magnitude: 25.85

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 384 days (1.05 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 29.29 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.37 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.70 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2018 VZ6 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.