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Asteroid Near-Earth

2018 GQ

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(2018 GQ)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.07 AU
True anomaly
164.65°
Distance from Earth
2.062 AU
As of
20 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 — 0.996 AU from the Sun Earth 2018 GQ — 1.07 AU from the Sun 2018 GQ
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2018 GQ is 2.062 AU from Earth today (17.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 38m 27s
Declination
-07° 20′ 27″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
2.06 AU
Elongation from the Sun
3.75° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
0.897 AU
Eccentricity
0.2032
Inclination
18.49°
Orbital period
310.5 days
Perihelion
0.715 AU
Aphelion
1.08 AU
Longitude of ascending node
187.26°
Argument of periapsis
211.35°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 15.7 LD
0.0404 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.57

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).

Observations used
36
Data arc
10 days
First observed
8 April 2018
Last observed
18 April 2018
Residual RMS
0.32 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
23.46

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 78 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2018 GQ at 2029-03-25 14:17 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-03-25 14:17 UTC close approach of 2018 GQ. Catalogue miss distance 130.3 LD · 5.01 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-03-22 to 2029-03-28, 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 130.3 LD · 5.01 × 10⁷ km 2029-03-25 14:17 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-03-25 14:17 UTC close approach of 2018 GQ. Catalogue miss distance 130.3 LD · 5.01 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-03-22 to 2029-03-28, 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
2029-03-25 14:17:00 Earth 0.3347 AU 130.3 LD 17 km/s
2029-10-22 06:27:00 Earth 0.2976 AU 115.8 LD 13.4 km/s
2030-05-17 22:59:00 Earth 0.4198 AU 163.4 LD 13.8 km/s
2035-03-24 08:31:00 Earth 0.0685 AU 26.6 LD 10.8 km/s
2035-09-15 16:00:00 Earth 0.2602 AU 101.3 LD 13 km/s
2040-12-20 23:07:00 Earth 0.3539 AU 137.7 LD 7.3 km/s
2041-04-08 01:08:00 Earth 0.1804 AU 70.2 LD 9.9 km/s
2041-08-07 07:21:00 Earth 0.2978 AU 115.9 LD 11.4 km/s
2043-05-28 19:38:00 Venus 0.0452 AU 17.6 LD 13.1 km/s
2046-03-27 15:50:00 Earth 0.4066 AU 158.2 LD 19 km/s

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

Sources