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Asteroid Near-Earth

2018 BM5

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(2018 BM5)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.954 AU
True anomaly
215.02°
Distance from Earth
1.594 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 BM5 — 0.954 AU from the Sun 2018 BM5
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2018 BM5 is 1.594 AU from Earth today (13.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 20m 28s
Declination
+03° 55′ 37″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
1.59 AU
Elongation from the Sun
34.29° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
0.765 AU
Eccentricity
0.3922
Inclination
3.15°
Orbital period
244.4 days
Perihelion
0.465 AU
Aphelion
1.065 AU
Longitude of ascending node
304.01°
Argument of periapsis
333.98°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 1.1 LD
0.0028 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.506

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
67
Data arc
732 days
First observed
15 January 2018
Last observed
17 January 2020
Residual RMS
0.42 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
27.42

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 350 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2018 BM5 at 2027-12-24 15:10 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-12-24 15:10 UTC close approach of 2018 BM5. Catalogue miss distance 32.8 LD · 1.26 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-12-21 to 2027-12-27, 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 32.8 LD · 1.26 × 10⁷ km 2027-12-24 15:10 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-12-24 15:10 UTC close approach of 2018 BM5. Catalogue miss distance 32.8 LD · 1.26 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-12-21 to 2027-12-27, 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
2026-12-26 03:41:00 Mercury 0.0165 AU 6.4 LD 13.9 km/s
2026-12-26 03:41:00 Merc 0.0165 AU 6.4 LD 13.9 km/s
2027-12-24 15:10:00 Earth 0.0842 AU 32.8 LD 7.9 km/s
2028-11-23 03:47:00 Venus 0.0813 AU 31.6 LD 16.2 km/s
2029-12-15 17:32:00 Earth 0.0751 AU 29.2 LD 8 km/s
2031-02-12 23:30:00 Venus 0.1327 AU 51.6 LD 19.7 km/s
2031-12-09 05:52:00 Earth 0.0604 AU 23.5 LD 8.3 km/s
2033-01-02 01:53:00 Merc 0.0156 AU 6.1 LD 13.9 km/s
2033-01-02 01:53:00 Mercury 0.0156 AU 6.1 LD 13.9 km/s
2033-12-03 18:12:00 Earth 0.0464 AU 18.1 LD 8.9 km/s

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

Sources