450894 (2008 BT18)

Small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 450894 (2008 BT18)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Will pass within 27,976,223 km of Earth in 2051
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

450894 (2008 BT18) is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2008 BT18 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2008 BT18 orbits the sun every 1,210 days (3.31 years), coming as close as 0.90 AU and reaching as far as 3.54 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2008 BT18 is probably between 0.617 to 1.381 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

The rotation of 2008 BT18 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 2.57 hours.

Close Approaches

2008 BT18's orbit is 0.01 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.

2008 BT18 has 7 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
July 31, 2051 27,976,223 18.013
June 17, 2061 17,842,767 11.083
July 30, 2094 23,663,386 17.393
June 26, 2104 13,585,497 11.037
April 8, 2114 25,854,272 14.702
June 30, 2147 13,528,035 11.360
May 29, 2190 21,460,472 11.114

Images and Observations

2008 BT18's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 14, 1955. It was last officially observed on Jan. 15, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 435 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 2008 BT18:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.22 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5942
  • Inclination: 8.14°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 107.53°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 139.37°
  • Mean Anomaly: 219.35°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.797 km
  • Magnitude: 18.17

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,210 days (3.31 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 19.96 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.54 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.90 AU
  • Rotation Period: 2.57 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 450894 (2008 BT18) 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 above comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 2008 BT18 to create an approximate landscape rendering with Mount Everest in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.