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Asteroid Near-Earth

2018 YG

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(2018 YG)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.808 AU
True anomaly
121.58°
Distance from Earth
0.504 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 YG — 0.808 AU from the Sun 2018 YG
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2018 YG is 0.504 AU from Earth today (4.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
15h 57m 55s
Declination
+31° 06′ 54″
Constellation
Corona Borealis
Distance from Earth
0.5 AU
Elongation from the Sun
54.02° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
0.77 AU
Eccentricity
0.4376
Inclination
29.44°
Orbital period
247 days
Perihelion
0.433 AU
Aphelion
1.107 AU
Longitude of ascending node
266.7°
Argument of periapsis
342.57°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 29.4 LD
0.0754 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.357

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
18
Data arc
728 days
First observed
16 December 2018
Last observed
13 December 2020
Residual RMS
0.48 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.3

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 197 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2018 YG at 2026-11-24 16:22 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-11-24 16:22 UTC close approach of 2018 YG. Catalogue miss distance 151.6 LD · 5.83 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-11-21 to 2026-11-27, 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 151.6 LD · 5.83 × 10⁷ km 2026-11-24 16:22 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-11-24 16:22 UTC close approach of 2018 YG. Catalogue miss distance 151.6 LD · 5.83 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-11-21 to 2026-11-27, 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
2026-11-24 16:22:00 Earth 0.3896 AU 151.6 LD 18.9 km/s
2028-11-22 02:17:00 Earth 0.4917 AU 191.4 LD 22.7 km/s
2036-02-16 13:41:00 Merc 0.0541 AU 21.0 LD 31.6 km/s
2036-02-16 13:41:00 Mercury 0.0541 AU 21.0 LD 31.6 km/s
2037-12-20 04:48:00 Earth 0.3684 AU 143.4 LD 25.2 km/s
2039-07-06 12:31:00 Merc 0.0393 AU 15.3 LD 32.1 km/s
2039-07-06 12:31:00 Mercury 0.0393 AU 15.3 LD 32.1 km/s
2039-12-24 02:25:00 Earth 0.2242 AU 87.3 LD 20.9 km/s
2041-12-23 23:44:00 Earth 0.103 AU 40.1 LD 17.6 km/s
2042-11-22 23:52:00 Merc 0.0951 AU 37.0 LD 34.4 km/s

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

Sources