2015 KQ18
ephemeris date magn radius delta (AU) delta (LD) delta (km) ra dec elong phase
Today16 Oct 202527.70.964 AU1.791 AU696.82 LD267,905,745 km14h53m-17°30'23.6°24.5°
Approach24 Feb 202624.80.952 AU0.154 AU59.76 LD22,976,525 km01h26m+50°30'71.6°99.6°
Brightest5 Mar 202624.31.017 AU0.175 AU68.08 LD26,172,895 km04h50m+57°02'93.1°77.0°

Based on its absolute magnitude (Hₒ) of 25.4 and an albedo between 0.25 and 0.05, the estimated diameter of 2015 KQ18 is 20 - 50 m.

2015 KQ18- 2025-10-16
astro.vanbuitenen.nl


 
-1 year
-1 month
-1 day
Now
+1 day
+1 month
+1 year

The interactive orbit chart above shows the near-earth object's path through the solar system and its position at the given date. Green and blue lines are shown perpendicular to the ecliptic plane: Green if the path is above the ecliptic plane, blue if it is below.

(Left-click and drag to rotate the view; right-click and drag to move the view; use scroll wheel to zoom in our out.)

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the NEO's magnitude during its approach to earth.


The following all-sky chart shows the path of the NEO in the coming months.





The following chart shows the path of the NEO in the coming days or hours. The field of view is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.


    Terminology:
            
    delta:  distance between NEO and earth in AU or LD 
    radius: distance between NEO and sun in AU
    magn:   magnitude (brightness) estimate    
    ra:     right ascension in hours (24h = 360deg)
    dec:    declination in degrees
    elong:  elongation in degrees (angle sun-earth-NEO)    
    phase:  phase angle in degrees (angle sun-NEO-earth)        
    AU:     Astronomical Unit: mean distance between earth and sun (149597870.7 km)
    LD:     Lunar distance: Mean distance between earth and the moon (~0.00257 AU)
    

Orbital elements provided by the MPC (Minor Planet Center).
Calculations by a modified version of AAPlus, a C# implementation of the AA+ project by PJ Naughter from the algorithms presented in the book "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.
NGC2000 dso catalog and star labels from VizieR as provided by the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center.
Tycho2 catalog from the ESO archive.