Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 15,796,760 km of Earth in 2025
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2018 RR is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2018 RR 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 RR orbits the sun every 422 days (1.16 years), coming as close as 0.91 AU and reaching as far as 1.30 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2018 RR is probably between 0.005 to 0.023 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2018 RR's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2018 RR has 10 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
March 21, 2025 15,796,760 9.466
Sept. 9, 2033 8,875,904 10.107
March 17, 2040 17,182,942 8.147
Aug. 22, 2055 26,879,304 7.224
March 21, 2062 29,732,081 12.408
Sept. 5, 2070 4,227,387 8.505
March 21, 2077 22,581,957 11.079
March 21, 2130 15,026,229 8.981
Sept. 9, 2138 5,309,206 9.637
March 20, 2145 15,781,213 8.479

Images and Observations

2018 RR's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 6, 2018. It was last officially observed on Sept. 9, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 32 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2018 RR can be reached with a journey of 370 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 11.431 km/s. To put this into perspective, the delta-v to launch a rocket to Low-Earth Orbit is 9.7 km/s. There are 133 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2018 RR.

Similar Objects

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

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.101 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.178
  • Inclination: 13.72°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 164.29°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 106.98°
  • Mean Anomaly: 177.83°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.014 km
  • Magnitude: 27.6

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 422 days (1.16 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.38 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.30 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.91 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2018 RR 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.