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Asteroid Near-Earth

2018 MN8

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(2018 MN8)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.763 AU
True anomaly
232.93°
Distance from Earth
0.498 AU
As of
19 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 MN8 — 0.763 AU from the Sun 2018 MN8
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2018 MN8 is 0.498 AU from Earth today (4.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
16h 28m 05s
Declination
-40° 18′ 41″
Constellation
Scorpius
Distance from Earth
0.5 AU
Elongation from the Sun
47.72° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

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
0.848 AU
Eccentricity
0.6875
Inclination
12.38°
Orbital period
285 days
Perihelion
0.265 AU
Aphelion
1.43 AU
Longitude of ascending node
104.96°
Argument of periapsis
21.86°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 19.5 LD
0.05 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.712

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
36
Data arc
7.01 years
First observed
25 June 2018
Last observed
30 June 2025
Residual RMS
0.62 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
1 July 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
22.88

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 229 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2018 MN8 at 2032-06-27 20:28 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2032-06-27 20:28 UTC close approach of 2018 MN8. Catalogue miss distance 60.7 LD · 2.33 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2032-06-24 to 2032-06-30, 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 north of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 60.7 LD · 2.33 × 10⁷ km 2032-06-27 20:28 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2032-06-27 20:28 UTC close approach of 2018 MN8. Catalogue miss distance 60.7 LD · 2.33 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2032-06-24 to 2032-06-30, 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 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
2026-11-27 10:58:00 Merc 0.0793 AU 30.9 LD 22.4 km/s
2026-11-27 10:58:00 Mercury 0.0793 AU 30.9 LD 22.4 km/s
2030-01-04 02:00:00 Mercury 0.061 AU 23.7 LD 23 km/s
2030-01-04 02:00:00 Merc 0.061 AU 23.7 LD 23 km/s
2030-11-17 12:45:00 Venus 0.0832 AU 32.4 LD 26.5 km/s
2032-06-27 20:28:00 Earth 0.156 AU 60.7 LD 25.1 km/s
2033-02-12 13:00:00 Merc 0.0666 AU 25.9 LD 31.3 km/s
2033-02-12 13:00:00 Mercury 0.0666 AU 25.9 LD 31.3 km/s
2035-05-21 02:52:00 Venus 0.1414 AU 55.0 LD 22.3 km/s
2037-05-07 12:43:00 Mars 0.0298 AU 11.6 LD 13.9 km/s

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

Sources