Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

Epona

Add to an observing list or journal →

3838 Epona (1986 WA)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.263 AU
True anomaly
199.27°
Distance from Earth
2.654 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 Epona — 2.263 AU from the Sun Epona
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Epona is 2.654 AU from Earth today (22.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 20m 11s
Declination
-08° 34′ 07″
Constellation
Hydra
Distance from Earth
2.65 AU
Elongation from the Sun
56.88° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
1.505 AU
Eccentricity
0.7026
Inclination
29.18°
Orbital period
674.4 days
Perihelion
0.448 AU
Aphelion
2.563 AU
Longitude of ascending node
235.43°
Argument of periapsis
49.76°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · APO
Apollo
Earth MOID · 61.8 LD
0.1587 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
4.126

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
2,489
Data arc
39.24 years
First observed
30 November 1986
Last observed
27 February 2026
Residual RMS
0.46 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
18 September 2026

Physical properties

Rotation period
2.38 hours

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
15.67

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Maury, A.
Discovery date
27 November 1986
Discovery site
Palomar

Also known as 3838 · 1986 WA

Apollo Near-Earth Object Named

Close approaches 13 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of Epona at 2034-11-07 15:09 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2034-11-07 15:09 UTC close approach of Epona. Catalogue miss distance 77.0 LD · 2.96 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2034-11-04 to 2034-11-10, 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. At closest approach the object is north of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 77.0 LD · 2.96 × 10⁷ km 2034-11-07 15:09 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2034-11-07 15:09 UTC close approach of Epona. Catalogue miss distance 77.0 LD · 2.96 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2034-11-04 to 2034-11-10, 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. At closest approach the object is north of the ecliptic. 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
2034-11-07 15:09:00 Earth 0.198 AU 77.0 LD 29.8 km/s
2081-02-20 07:52:00 Mars 0.0939 AU 36.5 LD 19.1 km/s
2119-10-31 20:08:00 Earth 0.1996 AU 77.7 LD 23.3 km/s
2143-10-31 21:32:00 Earth 0.1986 AU 77.3 LD 23.3 km/s
2180-10-29 14:30:00 Mars 0.0875 AU 34.1 LD 19.5 km/s
2184-03-29 03:12:00 Merc 0.0714 AU 27.8 LD 33.8 km/s
2184-03-29 03:12:00 Mercury 0.0714 AU 27.8 LD 33.8 km/s
2189-10-10 15:01:00 Merc 0.0563 AU 21.9 LD 36.4 km/s
2189-10-10 15:01:00 Mercury 0.0563 AU 21.9 LD 36.4 km/s
2195-04-23 22:27:00 Merc 0.0812 AU 31.6 LD 40.1 km/s

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

Sources