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Asteroid Near-Earth

2018 DA2

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(2018 DA2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.65 AU
True anomaly
79.6°
Distance from Earth
0.397 AU
As of
20 October 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 — 0.996 AU from the Sun Earth 2018 DA2 — 0.65 AU from the Sun 2018 DA2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2018 DA2 is 0.397 AU from Earth today (3.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 51m 20s
Declination
+13° 11′ 44″
Constellation
Boötes
Distance from Earth
0.4 AU
Elongation from the Sun
23.94° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
0.882 AU
Eccentricity
0.4508
Inclination
18.32°
Orbital period
302.8 days
Perihelion
0.485 AU
Aphelion
1.28 AU
Longitude of ascending node
344.24°
Argument of periapsis
328.66°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 32.6 LD
0.0837 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.594

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
56
Data arc
5.02 years
First observed
25 February 2018
Last observed
4 March 2023
Residual RMS
0.38 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
8 March 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
23.28

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 215 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2018 DA2 at 2026-10-25 19:15 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-10-25 19:15 UTC close approach of 2018 DA2. Catalogue miss distance 153.2 LD · 5.89 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-10-22 to 2026-10-28, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. At closest approach the object is north of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 153.2 LD · 5.89 × 10⁷ km 2026-10-25 19:15 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-10-25 19:15 UTC close approach of 2018 DA2. Catalogue miss distance 153.2 LD · 5.89 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-10-22 to 2026-10-28, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. At closest approach the object is north of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2026-10-25 19:15:00 Earth 0.3937 AU 153.2 LD 14.7 km/s
2027-01-14 17:55:00 Earth 0.3618 AU 140.8 LD 11.9 km/s
2028-03-14 10:08:00 Earth 0.1961 AU 76.3 LD 20.3 km/s
2031-10-06 08:03:00 Earth 0.438 AU 170.5 LD 18.5 km/s
2032-01-31 01:23:00 Earth 0.361 AU 140.5 LD 12.6 km/s
2033-03-09 20:42:00 Earth 0.3375 AU 131.4 LD 24.9 km/s
2036-08-31 08:14:00 Merc 0.0956 AU 37.2 LD 20.6 km/s
2036-08-31 08:14:00 Mercury 0.0956 AU 37.2 LD 20.6 km/s
2036-09-18 21:56:00 Earth 0.4741 AU 184.5 LD 21.3 km/s
2037-02-13 03:54:00 Earth 0.3322 AU 129.3 LD 12.8 km/s

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

Sources