Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Interior-Earth Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Will pass within 25,769,330 km of Earth in 2027
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2018 JB3 is a mid-sized asteroid with an orbit that is entirely confined within Earth's orbit. NASA JPL has classified 2018 JB3 as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.

2018 JB3 orbits the sun every 206 days (0.56 years), coming as close as 0.48 AU and reaching as far as 0.88 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2018 JB3 is probably between 0.781 to 1.746 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

Close Approaches

2018 JB3's orbit is 0.14 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

2018 JB3 has 15 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
July 4, 2027 25,769,330 19.980
July 11, 2036 24,320,313 19.622
July 9, 2049 20,679,952 19.492
July 6, 2062 21,232,097 19.614
July 4, 2075 25,768,557 19.970
July 12, 2084 24,344,296 19.629
July 9, 2097 20,678,867 19.500
July 8, 2110 21,226,979 19.606
July 5, 2123 25,727,721 19.956
July 13, 2132 24,353,709 19.638
July 10, 2145 20,672,774 19.494
July 8, 2158 21,197,753 19.596
July 5, 2171 25,706,450 19.961
July 13, 2180 24,361,574 19.634
July 11, 2193 20,687,633 19.491

Images and Observations

2018 JB3's orbit is determined by observations dating back to July 12, 2015. It was last officially observed on June 15, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 123 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

This asteroid is not considered a viable target for human exploration by the NHATS study.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2018 JB3:

References

Search

   or view a random object

Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.6832 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2904
  • Inclination: 40.39°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 106.42°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 355.24°
  • Mean Anomaly: 285.15°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~1.008 km
  • Magnitude: 17.66

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 206 days (0.56 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 36.08 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 0.88 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.48 AU

Map Comparison

Click to load map

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2018 JB3 is indicated by a ◯ pink circle. Note that the object may not be in your current field of view. Use the controls below to adjust position, location, and time.

Size Rendering

The above comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 2018 JB3 to create an approximate landscape rendering with Mount Everest in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.