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Asteroid Near-Earth

2018 VP5

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(2018 VP5)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.214 AU
True anomaly
156.29°
Distance from Earth
0.812 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 VP5 — 1.214 AU from the Sun 2018 VP5
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2018 VP5 is 0.812 AU from Earth today (6.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
08h 21m 39s
Declination
+12° 14′ 01″
Constellation
Cancer
Distance from Earth
0.81 AU
Elongation from the Sun
83.93° — well clear of the Sun

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
0.912 AU
Eccentricity
0.4083
Inclination
12.27°
Orbital period
318.3 days
Perihelion
0.54 AU
Aphelion
1.285 AU
Longitude of ascending node
227.88°
Argument of periapsis
46.11°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 11.6 LD
0.0297 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.45

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
39
Data arc
4 days
First observed
8 November 2018
Last observed
12 November 2018
Residual RMS
0.52 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.3

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 158 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2018 VP5 at 2031-11-18 02:16 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2031-11-18 02:16 UTC close approach of 2018 VP5. Catalogue miss distance 171.3 LD · 6.59 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2031-11-15 to 2031-11-21, 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 171.3 LD · 6.59 × 10⁷ km 2031-11-18 02:16 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2031-11-18 02:16 UTC close approach of 2018 VP5. Catalogue miss distance 171.3 LD · 6.59 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2031-11-15 to 2031-11-21, 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
2031-11-18 02:16:00 Earth 0.4402 AU 171.3 LD 27.1 km/s
2032-11-24 15:58:00 Earth 0.2666 AU 103.8 LD 10.4 km/s
2033-06-10 13:27:00 Earth 0.4773 AU 185.7 LD 19.4 km/s
2034-02-27 09:40:00 Earth 0.2061 AU 80.2 LD 11.9 km/s
2038-11-11 07:55:00 Earth 0.2763 AU 107.5 LD 21.8 km/s
2041-02-18 18:44:00 Earth 0.2395 AU 93.2 LD 17 km/s
2045-11-05 10:41:00 Earth 0.1104 AU 43.0 LD 16.7 km/s
2048-02-11 21:03:00 Earth 0.3583 AU 139.4 LD 22.2 km/s
2052-11-02 23:47:00 Earth 0.0575 AU 22.4 LD 12.4 km/s
2065-11-14 13:34:00 Earth 0.3627 AU 141.2 LD 24.6 km/s

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

Sources