Asteroid 2018 BC to flyby Earth at 0.73 LD on January 19

A newly discovered asteroid designated 2018 BC will flyby Earth at a distance of 0.73 LD / 0.00189 AU (~ 282 739 km / 175 686 miles) on January 19, 2018. This is the second known asteroid to flyby Earth within 1 lunar distance since January 1, 2018, and 55^th since January 1, 2017.

Asteroid 2018 BC was first observed at Catalina Sky Survey on January 17, 2018. Its estimated diameter is between 3.7 and 8.3 m (12 – 27.2 feet) and it belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids.

This asteroid will flyby Earth at 20:23 UTC on January 19 at a speed (relative to the Earth) of 2.67 km/s:

[ Ephemeris | Orbit Diagram | Orbital Elements | Physical Parameters | Close-Approach Data ]

This is the second asteroid to flyby Earth within 1 lunar distance this year after 2018 AH on January 2, 2018. While 2018 AH has an estimated diameter of 84 – 190 m (275 – 693 feet), making it the largest known near-Earth object to flyby Earth within 1 lunar distance since 2011 and the 9^th largest known near-Earth object (asteroids + comets) to flyby Earth within 1 lunar distance ever, 2018 BC's estimated diameter is only between 3.7 and 8.3 m (12 – 27.2 feet).

Its next flyby is expected at 08:07 UTC on May 21, 2019 at a distance of 0.39 AU.

Reference:

Asteroid 2018 BC at Minor Planet Center; at CNEOS

Featured image: Featured image: The green line indicates the object's apparent motion relative to the Earth, and the bright green marks are the object's location at approximately one-hour intervals. The Moon's orbit is grey. The blue arrow points in the direction of Earth's motion and the yellow arrow points toward the Sun. Credit: Minor Planet Center.