2018 SF3 is an asteroid in the Apollo orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.86 AU to 1.17 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 372.4 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 1.123 AU
- True anomaly
- 218.66°
- Distance from Earth
- 0.932 AU
- As of
- 3 November 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.
In the sky
- Right ascension
- 19h 39m 42s
- Declination
- -22° 16′ 45″
- Constellation
- Sagittarius
- Distance from Earth
- 0.93 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 71.3° — well clear of the Sun
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.
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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
- 1.013 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.1527
- Inclination
- 6.19°
- Orbital period
- 372.4 days
- Perihelion
- 0.858 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.168 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 355.92°
- Argument of periapsis
- 134.88°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · APO
- Apollo
- Earth MOID · 24.9 LD
- 0.0639 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 6.004
Orbit quality
Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 2).
- Observations used
- 39
- Data arc
- 335 days
- First observed
- 30 September 2018
- Last observed
- 31 August 2019
- Residual RMS
- 0.54 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 15 April 2021
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 25.31
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 104 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-05-30 08:10 UTC close approach of 2018 SF3. Catalogue miss distance 192.4 LD · 7.4 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-05-27 to 2027-06-02, 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. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.
| When (UTC) | Body | Distance | Lunar distances | Relative speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2027-05-30 08:10:00 | Earth | 0.4944 AU | 192.4 LD | 18.6 km/s |
| 2031-04-21 23:57:00 | Venus | 0.1421 AU | 55.3 LD | 4.1 km/s |
| 2063-11-20 16:55:00 | Venus | 0.1465 AU | 57.0 LD | 3.9 km/s |
| 2066-12-31 08:15:00 | Venus | 0.1491 AU | 58.0 LD | 4.1 km/s |
| 2067-10-12 02:37:00 | Earth | 0.4281 AU | 166.6 LD | 17 km/s |
| 2068-10-16 06:28:00 | Earth | 0.3105 AU | 120.8 LD | 13.4 km/s |
| 2069-10-20 19:59:00 | Earth | 0.1955 AU | 76.1 LD | 9.9 km/s |
| 2070-10-22 21:37:00 | Earth | 0.0946 AU | 36.8 LD | 6.6 km/s |
| 2071-10-13 22:10:00 | Earth | 0.073 AU | 28.4 LD | 4.4 km/s |
| 2072-09-16 01:53:00 | Earth | 0.1255 AU | 48.8 LD | 4.5 km/s |
Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.
Sources
- visual properties: JPL SBDB (lookup)
- orbital elements: JPL SBDB