Asteroid 2018 VP1 flew past Earth at 0.39 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 VP1 flew past Earth at a distance of 0.39 LD or 0.00100 AU (149 597 km / 92 955 miles) on November 2, 2018. This is the 58th known asteroid to flyby Earth within 1 lunar distance since the start of the year.
2018 VP1 belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids. It was first observed at Palomar Mountain (ZTF) on November 3, 2018, one day after it made its close approach.
This asteroid has an estimated diameter between 1.9 and 4.2 m (6.2 – 13.8 feet) and it flew past us at a speed (relative to the Earth) of 9.81 km/s at 18:20 UTC on November 2.
[ Ephemeris | Orbit Diagram | Orbital Elements | Mission Design | Physical Parameters | Close-Approach Data ]
This is the 58th known asteroid to flyby Earth within 1 lunar distance since January 2, 2018. It also the first this month, 5th since October 6 and 18th since September 3.
References:
Asteroid 2018 VP1 at Minor Planet Center; at CNEOS
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Are there any estimates as to how the orbit of asteriod 2018VP1 was perturbed by its close encounter with the Earth and where it will be the next time we see it?