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Asteroid Near-Earth

2018 HB

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(2018 HB)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.059 AU
True anomaly
148.19°
Distance from Earth
1.897 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 HB — 1.059 AU from the Sun 2018 HB
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2018 HB is 1.897 AU from Earth today (15.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 16m 59s
Declination
+06° 00′ 17″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.9 AU
Elongation from the Sun
23.61° — 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
0.81 AU
Eccentricity
0.5883
Inclination
22.06°
Orbital period
266.3 days
Perihelion
0.334 AU
Aphelion
1.287 AU
Longitude of ascending node
14.37°
Argument of periapsis
354.84°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 70.3 LD
0.1806 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.014

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
60
Data arc
15.99 years
First observed
11 April 2010
Last observed
8 April 2026
Residual RMS
0.4 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
31 August 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
22.22

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 87 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2018 HB at 2029-04-27 17:27 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-04-27 17:27 UTC close approach of 2018 HB. Catalogue miss distance 70.3 LD · 2.7 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-04-24 to 2029-04-30, 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 south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 70.3 LD · 2.7 × 10⁷ km 2029-04-27 17:27 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-04-27 17:27 UTC close approach of 2018 HB. Catalogue miss distance 70.3 LD · 2.7 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-04-24 to 2029-04-30, 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 south 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
2029-04-27 17:27:00 Earth 0.1807 AU 70.3 LD 17.8 km/s
2049-12-02 07:07:00 Merc 0.0826 AU 32.1 LD 22.5 km/s
2049-12-02 07:07:00 Mercury 0.0826 AU 32.1 LD 22.5 km/s
2050-08-29 18:00:00 Merc 0.038 AU 14.8 LD 21.7 km/s
2050-08-29 18:00:00 Mercury 0.038 AU 14.8 LD 21.7 km/s
2051-05-25 20:45:00 Merc 0.0331 AU 12.9 LD 24.5 km/s
2051-05-25 20:45:00 Mercury 0.0331 AU 12.9 LD 24.5 km/s
2064-04-27 06:30:00 Earth 0.1821 AU 70.9 LD 17.5 km/s
2076-03-05 00:27:00 Mercury 0.076 AU 29.6 LD 22.3 km/s
2076-03-05 00:27:00 Merc 0.076 AU 29.6 LD 22.3 km/s

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

Sources