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Asteroid Near-Earth

2018 VS3

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(2018 VS3)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.293 AU
True anomaly
177.34°
Distance from Earth
0.678 AU
As of
21 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 — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth 2018 VS3 — 1.293 AU from the Sun 2018 VS3
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2018 VS3 is 0.678 AU from Earth today (5.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
07h 34m 10s
Declination
+41° 46′ 35″
Constellation
Lynx
Distance from Earth
0.68 AU
Elongation from the Sun
99.56° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
0.911 AU
Eccentricity
0.4193
Inclination
24.57°
Orbital period
317.8 days
Perihelion
0.529 AU
Aphelion
1.294 AU
Longitude of ascending node
34.89°
Argument of periapsis
207.77°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 55.2 LD
0.1419 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.4

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
80
Data arc
7.06 years
First observed
3 November 2018
Last observed
24 November 2025
Residual RMS
0.5 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
26 November 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
22.38

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 41 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2018 VS3 at 2038-10-15 00:32 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2038-10-15 00:32 UTC close approach of 2018 VS3. Catalogue miss distance 59.3 LD · 2.28 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2038-10-12 to 2038-10-18, 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 59.3 LD · 2.28 × 10⁷ km 2038-10-15 00:32 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2038-10-15 00:32 UTC close approach of 2018 VS3. Catalogue miss distance 59.3 LD · 2.28 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2038-10-12 to 2038-10-18, 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
2038-10-15 00:32:00 Earth 0.1523 AU 59.3 LD 17.3 km/s
2039-05-19 13:32:00 Venus 0.1488 AU 57.9 LD 20.5 km/s
2041-02-28 22:00:00 Mercury 0.0965 AU 37.6 LD 16.8 km/s
2041-02-28 22:00:00 Merc 0.0965 AU 37.6 LD 16.8 km/s
2045-10-20 04:11:00 Earth 0.1907 AU 74.2 LD 14.6 km/s
2058-10-15 12:30:00 Earth 0.194 AU 75.5 LD 19.1 km/s
2065-10-17 01:20:00 Earth 0.1551 AU 60.3 LD 15.2 km/s
2085-10-15 08:32:00 Earth 0.1413 AU 55.0 LD 16.4 km/s
2100-04-21 16:36:00 Venus 0.1485 AU 57.8 LD 19.8 km/s
2105-10-16 01:32:00 Earth 0.163 AU 63.4 LD 17.9 km/s

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

Sources