Asteroid 2018 FQ3 flew past Earth at 0.73 LD, one day before discovery

asteroid-2018-fq3

Asteroid 2018 FQ3, first observed at Catalina Sky Survey on March 20, flew past Earth at a distance of 0.73 LD / 0.00187 AU (~279 748 km / 173 827 miles) on March 19, 2018.

This is Apollo class asteroid with an estimated diameter of 5.1 and 11 m (16.7 – 36 feet). 

It flew past Earth at a speed (relative to the Earth) of 11.04 km/s at 05:59 UTC on March 19, one day before it was discovered.

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

This was the 22nd known asteroid to flyby Earth within 1 lunar distance since the start of the year. It was preceded by 2018 FE3 on March 18 and will be followed by 2018 FZ3 on March 23.

Reference:

Asteroid 2018 FQ3 at Minor Planet Center; at CNEOS

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.

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