Newly discovered asteroid 2018 TV5 flew past Earth at 0.28 LD
Image credit: 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 half 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.
A newly discovered asteroid designated 2018 TV5 flew past Earth at 0.28 LD / 0.00068 AU (101 726 km / 63 209 miles) on October 6, 2018. This is the 55th known asteroid to flyby Earth since the start of the year, 2nd this month and 15th since September 3.
2018 TV5 was first observed at Catalina Sky Survey on October 5, 2 days before it closest approach. However, the information about it was made known to the public on October 15.
This object belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids and has an estimated diameter between 3.4 and 7.6 m (11.1 – 24.9 feet).
It flew past Earth at 05:24 UTC on October 6, with an estimated speed (relative to the Earth of 15.28 km/s.
[ Ephemeris | Orbit Diagram | Orbital Elements | Mission Design | Physical Parameters | Close-Approach Data ]
Reference:
Asteroid 2018 TV5 at Minor Planet Center; at CNEOS
I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.
Commenting rules and guidelines
We value the thoughts and opinions of our readers and welcome healthy discussions on our website. In order to maintain a respectful and positive community, we ask that all commenters follow these rules.