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Asteroid Near-Earth

Sisyphus

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1866 Sisyphus (1972 XA)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.444 AU
True anomaly
213.34°
Distance from Earth
3.358 AU
As of
11 October 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth Sisyphus — 2.444 AU from the Sun Sisyphus
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Sisyphus is 3.358 AU from Earth today (27.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 18m 31s
Declination
+02° 23′ 26″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
3.36 AU
Elongation from the Sun
19.72° — too close to the Sun to observe

Visible from both hemispheres.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it is up after civil twilight, and when it rises and sets where you are.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.

Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
1.893 AU
Eccentricity
0.5381
Inclination
41.21°
Orbital period
2.61 years
Perihelion
0.875 AU
Aphelion
2.912 AU
Longitude of ascending node
63.45°
Argument of periapsis
293.09°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · APO
Apollo
Earth MOID · 40.2 LD
0.1034 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.513

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
10,700
Data arc
71.53 years
First observed
26 January 1955
Last observed
9 August 2026
Residual RMS
0.3 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
2 September 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
4.24 km
Rotation period
2.4 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.15
Absolute magnitude (H)
12.47
Spectral type (SMASS)
S

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Wild, P.
Discovery date
5 December 1972
Discovery site
Zimmerwald

Also known as 1866 · 1972 XA

Apollo Near-Earth Object Named

Close approaches 7 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of Sisyphus at 2058-11-18 16:40 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2058-11-18 16:40 UTC close approach of Sisyphus. Catalogue miss distance 59.7 LD · 2.29 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2058-11-15 to 2058-11-21, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 59.7 LD · 2.29 × 10⁷ km 2058-11-18 16:40 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2058-11-18 16:40 UTC close approach of Sisyphus. Catalogue miss distance 59.7 LD · 2.29 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2058-11-15 to 2058-11-21, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2058-11-18 16:40:00 Earth 0.1533 AU 59.7 LD 23.8 km/s
2071-11-24 07:51:00 Earth 0.1158 AU 45.1 LD 26 km/s
2157-11-21 17:04:00 Earth 0.1146 AU 44.6 LD 24.7 km/s
2170-11-27 11:23:00 Earth 0.1645 AU 64.0 LD 27.2 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources