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Asteroid Near-Earth

2018 XC

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(2018 XC)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.106 AU
True anomaly
184.99°
Distance from Earth
1.381 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 XC — 1.106 AU from the Sun 2018 XC
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2018 XC is 1.381 AU from Earth today (11.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
10h 31m 33s
Declination
+20° 17′ 33″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
1.38 AU
Elongation from the Sun
52.54° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
0.79 AU
Eccentricity
0.4035
Inclination
21.33°
Orbital period
256.5 days
Perihelion
0.471 AU
Aphelion
1.109 AU
Longitude of ascending node
69.8°
Argument of periapsis
212.26°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 5.0 LD
0.0128 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.25

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
48
Data arc
7 days
First observed
3 December 2018
Last observed
10 December 2018
Residual RMS
0.39 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.7

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 76 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2018 XC at 2030-12-28 08:36 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-12-28 08:36 UTC close approach of 2018 XC. Catalogue miss distance 105.1 LD · 4.04 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-12-25 to 2030-12-31, 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 105.1 LD · 4.04 × 10⁷ km 2030-12-28 08:36 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-12-28 08:36 UTC close approach of 2018 XC. Catalogue miss distance 105.1 LD · 4.04 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-12-25 to 2030-12-31, 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
2030-12-28 08:36:00 Earth 0.27 AU 105.1 LD 12.4 km/s
2031-04-26 18:25:00 Mercury 0.0144 AU 5.6 LD 17.1 km/s
2031-04-26 18:25:00 Merc 0.0144 AU 5.6 LD 17.1 km/s
2032-12-03 21:37:00 Earth 0.2328 AU 90.6 LD 20.5 km/s
2036-01-26 06:55:00 Earth 0.4967 AU 193.3 LD 22.4 km/s
2037-12-14 02:16:00 Earth 0.1995 AU 77.6 LD 12.3 km/s
2038-04-05 03:00:00 Earth 0.4262 AU 165.9 LD 14.5 km/s
2039-09-28 15:34:00 Merc 0.028 AU 10.9 LD 18.2 km/s
2039-09-28 15:34:00 Mercury 0.028 AU 10.9 LD 18.2 km/s
2039-12-08 20:16:00 Earth 0.3592 AU 139.8 LD 24.3 km/s

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

Sources