We use cookies to deliver essential features and to measure their performance. Learn more.
Help us keep TheSkyLive 100% free & ads-free, donate now!
Home
Search Objects
Major Solar System Objects
Comets
Asteroids
Spacecrafts
Star Maps
Orbits
public  Greenwich, UK Greenwich, UK  ⓘ
TimezoneEurope/London
Sunrise: 7:08 
Transit: 12:13 
Sunset: 17:20
sunny   (Daytime)  
What's Visible Now • Tonight Timeline
Search  close
Dwarf Planets and Asteroids » 

Asteroid 2018 AJ

Above the horizon.  Rise: 4:59 | Tran: 8:09 | Set: 11:19
Alt: 8.38°   Az: 197.77°   Direction: South-South-West

Asteroid 2018 AJ is in the constellation of Sagittarius, at a distance of 220,377,325.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 18h 03m 52s and the Declination is -28° 12’ 31” (apparent coordinates). The magnitude of Asteroid 2018 AJ is 27.51 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Asteroid 2018 AJ in Sagittarius on February, 18 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Asteroid 2018 AJ in Sagittarius on February, 18 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Asteroid 2018 AJ is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

2018 AJ
RA: 18h 02m 16s
Dec: -28° 12’ 38”
Deep sky finder chart for Asteroid 2018 AJ. Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Asteroid 2018 AJ?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Asteroid 2018 AJ in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

18h 03m 52s
-28° 12’ 31”
01h 20m 09s
19h 24m 01s

J2000

18h 02m 16s
-28° 12’ 38”

Additional Information

Sagittarius
27.51

Rise and Set Times

Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 2018 AJ from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 118.2°
Max altitude: 10.3°
Azimuth: 241.8°
  • 2018 AJ is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Right now it is placed in the South-South-West direction at an altitude of 8.38° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 2018 AJ is visible only through long exposure photography.
  • Go to interactive sky chart

If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Asteroid 2018 AJ from Earth is currently 220,377,325.0 kilometers, equivalent to 1.4731314287 Astronomical Units. Light takes 12m 15.100s to travel from Asteroid 2018 AJ and arrive to us.

220,377,325.0
1.4731314287
12m 15.100s

The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 2018 AJ from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of Asteroid 2018 AJ from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of 2018 AJ from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Asteroid 2018 AJ to Earth happens on Wed Jan 24 2018 at a distance of 0.012035 Astronomical Units, or 1,800,431 kilometers:

Wed Jan 24 2018
1,800,431
0.012035

NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Asteroid 2018 AJ, according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.

Chart of the magnitude of Asteroid 2018 AJ as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 2018 AJ at epoch 24 February 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.30625311
Orbit inclination i 5.66603619°
Perihelion distance q 0.98565522 AU
147,451,922 km
Aphelion distance Q 1.85588610 AU
277,636,609 km
Semi-major axis a 1.42077066 AU
212,544,265 km
Orbital period period 1.6935 years
618.5637 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2023-Mar-07 13:15:21
2,460,011.0523 JD
Next perihelion transit 2024-Nov-15 02:47
2,460,629.6160 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 195.43799502679°
Longitude of the ascending node node 303.58554643684°
Mean anomaly M 353.85861252348°
Mean motion n 0.58199346°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Asteroid 2018 AJ
View Asteroid 2018 AJ in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Asteroid 2018 AJ computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2025 Feb 11 17h 40m 39s -28° 05’ 05” 27.46 Ophiuchus
2025 Feb 12 17h 43m 51s -28° 06’ 55” 27.47 Ophiuchus
2025 Feb 13 17h 47m 01s -28° 08’ 29” 27.47 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 14 17h 50m 11s -28° 09’ 47” 27.48 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 15 17h 53m 20s -28° 10’ 51” 27.49 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 16 17h 56m 27s -28° 11’ 38” 27.49 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 17 17h 59m 34s -28° 12’ 10” 27.50 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 18 18h 02m 39s -28° 12’ 28” 27.51 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 19 18h 05m 43s -28° 12’ 31” 27.51 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 20 18h 08m 46s -28° 12’ 21” 27.52 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 21 18h 11m 48s -28° 11’ 57” 27.52 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 22 18h 14m 48s -28° 11’ 19” 27.53 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 23 18h 17m 47s -28° 10’ 27” 27.53 Sagittarius
2025 Feb 24 18h 20m 45s -28° 09’ 24” 27.54 Sagittarius

Additional Resources