Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth Potentially hazardous

Oljato

Add to an observing list or journal →

2201 Oljato (1947 XC)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
3.706 AU
True anomaly
183.93°
Distance from Earth
2.8 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 Oljato — 3.706 AU from the Sun Oljato
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Oljato is 2.8 AU from Earth today (23.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
23h 26m 56s
Declination
-07° 06′ 29″
Constellation
Aquarius
Distance from Earth
2.8 AU
Elongation from the Sun
150.36° — well clear of the Sun

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
2.179 AU
Eccentricity
0.7109
Inclination
2.52°
Orbital period
3.22 years
Perihelion
0.63 AU
Aphelion
3.727 AU
Longitude of ascending node
74.85°
Argument of periapsis
98.38°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · APO
Apollo
Earth MOID · 1.1 LD
0.0027 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.298

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
1,905
Data arc
94.85 years
First observed
3 December 1931
Last observed
8 October 2026
Residual RMS
0.47 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
10 October 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
0.90 km
Rotation period
26 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.433
Absolute magnitude (H)
15.32
Spectral type (SMASS)
Sq

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Giclas, H. L.
Discovery date
12 December 1947
Discovery site
Flagstaff

Also known as 2201 · 1947 XC · 1979 VU2 · 1979 XA

Apollo Near-Earth Object Named Potentially Hazardous Asteroid

Close approaches 39 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of Oljato at 2040-12-16 12:56 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2040-12-16 12:56 UTC close approach of Oljato. Catalogue miss distance 38.9 LD · 1.49 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2040-12-13 to 2040-12-19, 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 38.9 LD · 1.49 × 10⁷ km 2040-12-16 12:56 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2040-12-16 12:56 UTC close approach of Oljato. Catalogue miss distance 38.9 LD · 1.49 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2040-12-13 to 2040-12-19, 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
2040-12-16 12:56:00 Earth 0.0999 AU 38.9 LD 23.3 km/s
2044-04-24 13:31:00 Venus 0.0802 AU 31.2 LD 13.9 km/s
2044-05-30 11:55:00 Earth 0.1289 AU 50.2 LD 16.5 km/s
2046-01-15 01:32:00 Juptr 1.4085 AU 548.1 LD 6 km/s
2056-12-14 21:02:00 Earth 0.1182 AU 46.0 LD 24.1 km/s
2058-05-31 01:39:00 Juptr 1.9514 AU 759.4 LD 8.5 km/s
2060-04-15 23:34:00 Venus 0.0909 AU 35.4 LD 14 km/s
2060-05-23 09:49:00 Earth 0.1922 AU 74.8 LD 14.9 km/s
2072-12-17 21:47:00 Earth 0.0849 AU 33.0 LD 22.8 km/s
2076-04-29 21:48:00 Venus 0.0548 AU 21.3 LD 14.4 km/s

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

Sources