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A newly discovered asteroid designated 2018 RJ3 flew past Earth at a distance of 0.44 LD / 0.00112 AU (167 549 km / 104 110 miles) on September 7, 2018. This is the 6th known asteroid to flyby Earth within 1 lunar distance since September 3, including 2018 RW on September 8 and 2018 RC on September 9.
2018 RJ3 was first observed at ATLAS-HKO, Haleakala on September 9, 2018, 2 days after it made the closest approach to our planet. It belongs to the Apollo group of asteroids and it flew past us at a speed (relative to the Earth) of 8.39 km/s at 21:42 UTC.
This object has an estimated diameter between 7.2 and 16 m (23.6 – 52.5 feet).
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[ Ephemeris | Orbit Diagram | Orbital Elements | Mission Design | Physical Parameters | Close-Approach Data ]
A total of 46 known asteroids flew past us within 1 lunar distance since the start of the year.
We had only two such flybys in August, two in July, two in June (+ one impact) and three in May.
Reference:
Asteroid 2018 RJ3 at Minor Planet Center; at CNEOS
Featured image credit: CNEOS
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