A newly discovered asteroid designated 2018 RR1 flew past Earth at a distance of 0.94 LD / 0.00242 AU (362 026 km / 224 953 miles) on September 3, 2018.
This object belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids. It was first observed at Mt. Lemmon Survey on September 7, 4 days after it made its closest approach to Earth.
Its estimated diameter is between 2.9 and 6.4 m (9.5 and 20.9 feet) and it flew past Earth at 22:07 UTC at a speed (relative to the Earth) of 4.60 km/s.
[ Ephemeris | Orbit Diagram | Orbital Elements | Mission Design | Physical Parameters | Close-Approach Data ]
This is the now the 40th known asteroid to flyby Earth within 1 lunar distance since the start of the year. Between January 1 and September 9, a total of 45 known asteroids flew past us within 1 LD.
Reference
Asteroid 2018 RR1 at Minor Planet Center; at CNEOS
Featured image credit: CNEOS
Author:
Teo Blašković
Researcher, journalist and editor of The Watchers. You can reach me at teo [ at ] watchers.news.
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