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Asteroid Near-Earth

2018 HM2

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(2018 HM2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.031 AU
True anomaly
185.48°
Distance from Earth
1.974 AU
As of
19 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 HM2 — 1.031 AU from the Sun 2018 HM2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2018 HM2 is 1.974 AU from Earth today (16.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 28m 39s
Declination
-15° 57′ 19″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
1.97 AU
Elongation from the Sun
13.42° — too close to the Sun to observe

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

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
0.837 AU
Eccentricity
0.2334
Inclination
10.88°
Orbital period
279.9 days
Perihelion
0.642 AU
Aphelion
1.033 AU
Longitude of ascending node
40.69°
Argument of periapsis
6.72°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 9.0 LD
0.0232 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.98

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
115
Data arc
18 days
First observed
27 April 2018
Last observed
15 May 2018
Residual RMS
0.38 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
23.7

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 103 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2018 HM2 at 2028-01-08 20:29 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-01-08 20:29 UTC close approach of 2018 HM2. Catalogue miss distance 121.2 LD · 4.66 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-01-05 to 2028-01-11, 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 121.2 LD · 4.66 × 10⁷ km 2028-01-08 20:29 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-01-08 20:29 UTC close approach of 2018 HM2. Catalogue miss distance 121.2 LD · 4.66 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-01-05 to 2028-01-11, 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
2028-01-08 20:29:00 Earth 0.3115 AU 121.2 LD 8.2 km/s
2028-05-25 17:53:00 Earth 0.1864 AU 72.6 LD 9.9 km/s
2028-09-19 05:20:00 Venus 0.0967 AU 37.6 LD 7.9 km/s
2031-04-16 01:13:00 Earth 0.1108 AU 43.1 LD 8.3 km/s
2031-08-14 20:49:00 Earth 0.2934 AU 114.2 LD 5.6 km/s
2031-09-29 17:05:00 Venus 0.0823 AU 32.0 LD 8.2 km/s
2034-04-20 03:54:00 Earth 0.483 AU 188.0 LD 19.8 km/s
2034-10-12 18:42:00 Venus 0.0669 AU 26.0 LD 8.1 km/s
2034-10-17 17:47:00 Earth 0.3466 AU 134.9 LD 12.6 km/s
2037-10-27 19:18:00 Venus 0.0662 AU 25.8 LD 8.8 km/s

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

Sources