Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2018 XQ2

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2018 XQ2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.987 AU
True anomaly
153.96°
Distance from Earth
0.471 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 XQ2 — 0.987 AU from the Sun 2018 XQ2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2018 XQ2 is 0.471 AU from Earth today (3.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
08h 56m 29s
Declination
+17° 08′ 37″
Constellation
Cancer
Distance from Earth
0.47 AU
Elongation from the Sun
75.4° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
0.856 AU
Eccentricity
0.178
Inclination
0.08°
Orbital period
289.4 days
Perihelion
0.704 AU
Aphelion
1.009 AU
Longitude of ascending node
113.33°
Argument of periapsis
146.53°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 0.0 LD
0.0001 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.875

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
44
Data arc
28 days
First observed
10 December 2018
Last observed
7 January 2019
Residual RMS
0.64 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
28 July 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
28.2

Discovery & classification

Listed by JPL impact monitoring; see the Sentry table for current probabilities.

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 23 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2018 XQ2 at 2037-11-26 12:18 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2037-11-26 12:18 UTC close approach of 2018 XQ2. Catalogue miss distance 4.67 LD · 1.79 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2037-11-23 to 2037-11-29, 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. Sun 24 Nov 29 Nov 4.67 LD · 1.79 × 10⁶ km 2037-11-26 12:18 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2037-11-26 12:18 UTC close approach of 2018 XQ2. Catalogue miss distance 4.67 LD · 1.79 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2037-11-23 to 2037-11-29, 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.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2029-08-03 14:31:00 Venus 0.047 AU 18.3 LD 6.5 km/s
2035-02-16 03:12:00 Venus 0.0456 AU 17.8 LD 6.4 km/s
2037-11-26 02:26:00 Moon 0.0095 AU 3.7 LD 4.5 km/s
2037-11-26 12:18:00 Earth 0.012 AU 4.7 LD 3.5 km/s
2048-11-10 21:29:00 Earth 0.0397 AU 15.5 LD 5.1 km/s
2053-01-14 07:27:00 Earth 0.1476 AU 57.5 LD 8.7 km/s
2060-05-07 14:21:00 Venus 0.037 AU 14.4 LD 6 km/s
2063-11-12 20:01:00 Earth 0.0249 AU 9.7 LD 4.6 km/s
2065-11-13 18:22:00 Venus 0.1131 AU 44.0 LD 9.7 km/s
2068-01-15 12:57:00 Earth 0.1177 AU 45.8 LD 7.7 km/s

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

Sources