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Asteroid Near-Earth

2018 WE2

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(2018 WE2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.082 AU
True anomaly
177.54°
Distance from Earth
0.391 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 WE2 — 1.082 AU from the Sun 2018 WE2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2018 WE2 is 0.391 AU from Earth today (3.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
08h 01m 13s
Declination
+50° 42′ 01″
Constellation
Lynx
Distance from Earth
0.39 AU
Elongation from the Sun
92.14° — 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
0.807 AU
Eccentricity
0.3414
Inclination
23.08°
Orbital period
264.8 days
Perihelion
0.532 AU
Aphelion
1.083 AU
Longitude of ascending node
247.2°
Argument of periapsis
335.34°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 16.0 LD
0.0412 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.128

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
22
Data arc
6 days
First observed
28 November 2018
Last observed
4 December 2018
Residual RMS
0.57 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
7 September 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.85

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 159 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2018 WE2 at 2026-12-04 02:12 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-12-04 02:12 UTC close approach of 2018 WE2. Catalogue miss distance 39.9 LD · 1.53 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-12-01 to 2026-12-07, 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 39.9 LD · 1.53 × 10⁷ km 2026-12-04 02:12 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-12-04 02:12 UTC close approach of 2018 WE2. Catalogue miss distance 39.9 LD · 1.53 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-12-01 to 2026-12-07, 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
2026-12-04 02:12:00 Earth 0.1024 AU 39.9 LD 15 km/s
2029-05-05 02:55:00 Earth 0.4901 AU 190.7 LD 22.6 km/s
2031-11-12 12:05:00 Earth 0.2456 AU 95.6 LD 13 km/s
2033-09-15 01:01:00 Mercury 0.0882 AU 34.3 LD 23.3 km/s
2033-09-15 01:01:00 Merc 0.0882 AU 34.3 LD 23.3 km/s
2034-06-06 10:24:00 Mercury 0.0798 AU 31.0 LD 23.2 km/s
2034-06-06 10:24:00 Merc 0.0798 AU 31.0 LD 23.2 km/s
2034-06-16 12:10:00 Earth 0.4541 AU 176.7 LD 20.9 km/s
2034-12-02 16:58:00 Earth 0.2406 AU 93.6 LD 18.5 km/s
2035-02-25 20:03:00 Merc 0.0763 AU 29.7 LD 23.2 km/s

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

Sources