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Asteroid Near-Earth

2018 FD

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(2018 FD)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.031 AU
True anomaly
198.24°
Distance from Earth
2.012 AU
As of
16 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 — 0.997 AU from the Sun Earth 2018 FD — 1.031 AU from the Sun 2018 FD
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2018 FD is 2.012 AU from Earth today (16.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 02m 39s
Declination
-05° 44′ 27″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
2.01 AU
Elongation from the Sun
7.29° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
0.796 AU
Eccentricity
0.326
Inclination
5.41°
Orbital period
259.6 days
Perihelion
0.537 AU
Aphelion
1.056 AU
Longitude of ascending node
171.54°
Argument of periapsis
179.54°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 15.6 LD
0.0402 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.271

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
101
Data arc
5.03 years
First observed
16 March 2018
Last observed
28 March 2023
Residual RMS
0.45 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
29 March 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.27

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 254 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2018 FD at 2027-11-11 21:38 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-11-11 21:38 UTC close approach of 2018 FD. Catalogue miss distance 151.3 LD · 5.82 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-11-08 to 2027-11-14, 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. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 151.3 LD · 5.82 × 10⁷ km 2027-11-11 21:38 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-11-11 21:38 UTC close approach of 2018 FD. Catalogue miss distance 151.3 LD · 5.82 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-11-08 to 2027-11-14, 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. 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
2027-11-11 21:38:00 Earth 0.3889 AU 151.3 LD 11.6 km/s
2028-04-09 20:26:00 Earth 0.153 AU 59.6 LD 12.2 km/s
2030-02-13 07:28:00 Earth 0.344 AU 133.9 LD 18.6 km/s
2030-07-31 10:22:00 Earth 0.4407 AU 171.5 LD 14.6 km/s
2032-10-22 09:17:00 Earth 0.4303 AU 167.5 LD 14.7 km/s
2033-04-06 05:23:00 Earth 0.3044 AU 118.5 LD 17.3 km/s
2033-05-08 03:55:00 Venus 0.1166 AU 45.4 LD 7.6 km/s
2034-04-15 10:52:00 Venus 0.0966 AU 37.6 LD 15 km/s
2035-02-08 14:34:00 Earth 0.1908 AU 74.2 LD 13.4 km/s
2035-07-12 10:09:00 Earth 0.4041 AU 157.3 LD 11.6 km/s

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

Sources