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Asteroid Near-Earth

885347

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885347 (2018 VB4)

885347 is an asteroid in the Apollo orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.4 AU to 1.61 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 367.8 days. Discovered 6 November 2018 by Pan-STARRS 2. Orbit from the JPL solution of 14 March 2026.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.501 AU
True anomaly
197.55°
Distance from Earth
0.551 AU
As of
3 November 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

Sun Earth — 0.992 AU from the Sun Earth 885347 — 1.501 AU from the Sun 885347
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 885347 is 0.551 AU from Earth today (4.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
04h 15m 09s
Declination
+01° 54′ 02″
Constellation
Taurus
Distance from Earth
0.55 AU
Elongation from the Sun
152.09° — well clear of the Sun

Visible from both hemispheres.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it is up after civil twilight, and when it rises and sets where you are.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.

Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
1.005 AU
Eccentricity
0.5978
Inclination
13.51°
Orbital period
367.8 days
Perihelion
0.404 AU
Aphelion
1.605 AU
Longitude of ascending node
198.36°
Argument of periapsis
13.27°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · APO
Apollo
Earth MOID · 57.9 LD
0.1488 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
5.865

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
116
Data arc
7.11 years
First observed
2 November 2018
Last observed
13 December 2025
Residual RMS
0.54 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
14 March 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
21.28

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Pan-STARRS 2
Discovery date
6 November 2018
Discovery site
Haleakala

Also known as 2018 VB4

Apollo Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 88 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2032-03-21 17:42:00 Mercury 0.0433 AU 16.8 LD 28.6 km/s
2032-03-21 17:42:00 Merc 0.0433 AU 16.8 LD 28.6 km/s
2043-04-20 07:39:00 Mercury 0.0433 AU 16.8 LD 28.6 km/s
2043-04-20 07:39:00 Merc 0.0433 AU 16.8 LD 28.6 km/s
2054-05-18 17:13:00 Merc 0.046 AU 17.9 LD 28.8 km/s
2054-05-18 17:13:00 Mercury 0.046 AU 17.9 LD 28.8 km/s
2060-06-09 20:28:00 Mercury 0.0958 AU 37.3 LD 25.4 km/s
2060-06-09 20:28:00 Merc 0.0958 AU 37.3 LD 25.4 km/s
2065-06-14 04:13:00 Mercury 0.0873 AU 34.0 LD 32.7 km/s
2065-06-14 04:13:00 Merc 0.0873 AU 34.0 LD 32.7 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources