Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2018 NX

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2018 NX)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.838 AU
True anomaly
70.47°
Distance from Earth
1.825 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 NX — 0.838 AU from the Sun 2018 NX
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2018 NX is 1.825 AU from Earth today (15.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 24m 52s
Declination
-10° 55′ 03″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.83 AU
Elongation from the Sun
4.79° — 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
0.898 AU
Eccentricity
0.1464
Inclination
4.06°
Orbital period
310.8 days
Perihelion
0.766 AU
Aphelion
1.029 AU
Longitude of ascending node
284.14°
Argument of periapsis
202.82°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 0.3 LD
0.0008 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.615

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
29
Data arc
11 days
First observed
8 July 2018
Last observed
19 July 2018
Residual RMS
0.31 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
27.7

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 38 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2018 NX at 2029-07-06 00:35 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-07-06 00:35 UTC close approach of 2018 NX. Catalogue miss distance 148.2 LD · 5.7 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-07-03 to 2029-07-09, 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 148.2 LD · 5.7 × 10⁷ km 2029-07-06 00:35 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-07-06 00:35 UTC close approach of 2018 NX. Catalogue miss distance 148.2 LD · 5.7 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-07-03 to 2029-07-09, 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
2029-07-06 00:35:00 Earth 0.3808 AU 148.2 LD 14.4 km/s
2029-12-17 02:54:00 Venus 0.1477 AU 57.5 LD 4.3 km/s
2030-01-26 09:58:00 Earth 0.2194 AU 85.4 LD 6.6 km/s
2030-08-25 05:19:00 Earth 0.4289 AU 166.9 LD 15.6 km/s
2035-06-28 15:06:00 Earth 0.1268 AU 49.3 LD 6.8 km/s
2035-12-03 19:11:00 Earth 0.1797 AU 69.9 LD 4.8 km/s
2041-01-21 16:21:00 Venus 0.1153 AU 44.9 LD 4.5 km/s
2041-08-21 03:25:00 Earth 0.0583 AU 22.7 LD 3.3 km/s
2047-02-20 06:22:00 Earth 0.2196 AU 85.5 LD 6.2 km/s
2047-08-30 08:59:00 Earth 0.3107 AU 120.9 LD 12 km/s

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

Sources