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Asteroid Near-Earth

Magellan

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4055 Magellan (1985 DO2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.398 AU
True anomaly
189.63°
Distance from Earth
3.148 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 Magellan — 2.398 AU from the Sun Magellan
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Magellan is 3.148 AU from Earth today (26.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
10h 54m 15s
Declination
+01° 54′ 34″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
3.14 AU
Elongation from the Sun
35.24° — 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
1.821 AU
Eccentricity
0.3259
Inclination
23.26°
Orbital period
897.3 days
Perihelion
1.227 AU
Aphelion
2.414 AU
Longitude of ascending node
164.79°
Argument of periapsis
154.45°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · AMO
Amor
Earth MOID · 93.2 LD
0.2394 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.886

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
11,571
Data arc
41.21 years
First observed
21 January 1985
Last observed
9 April 2026
Residual RMS
0.29 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 June 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
1.25 km
Rotation period
7.48 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.31
Absolute magnitude (H)
14.9
Spectral type (SMASS)
V
Spectral type (Tholen)
V

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Helin, E. F.
Discovery date
24 February 1985
Discovery site
Palomar

Also known as 4055 · 1985 DO2 · 1988 OG

Amor Near-Earth Object Named

Sources