Asteroids 2018 VT5 and VO5 flew past Earth at 0.48 and 0.37 LD

Two newly discovered asteroids designated 2018 VT5 and 2018 VO5 flew past Earth within 1 lunar distance on November 5 and 6, 2018.

Asteroid 2018 VT5 flew past Earth at 01:33 UTC on November 5 at a distance of 0.48 LD / 0.00123 AU (184 005 km/ 114 335 miles). It was first observed at Mt. Lemmon Survey on November 8, three days after its close approach.

2018 VT5 belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids. It has an estimated diameter between 5.8 and 13 m (19 – 42 feet) and it flew past Earth at a speed of 9.79 km/s (relative to the Earth).

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

Apollo class asteroid 2018 VO5 was discovered at Mt. Lemmon Survey on November 7. It flew past Earth at a speed of 12.22 km/s at 01:31 UTC on November 6 at a distance of 0.37 LD / 0.00094 AU (140 621 km/ 87 378 miles). 

Its estimated diameter is between 12 and 27 m (39 and 88 feet).

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

Since the start of the year, our observatories have discovered a total of 60 asteroids whose orbits took them within 1 lunar distance from Earth, including 2018 VX1 due to make its close approach at 18:20 UTC on November 10.

References

Asteroid 2018 VT5 at Minor Planet Center; at CNEOS

Asteroid 2018 VO5 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 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.