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Asteroid Near-Earth

7977

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7977 (1977 QQ5)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.677 AU
True anomaly
221.49°
Distance from Earth
3.39 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 7977 — 2.677 AU from the Sun 7977
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 7977 is 3.39 AU from Earth today (28.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
15h 39m 22s
Declination
-00° 35′ 22″
Constellation
Serpens
Distance from Earth
3.39 AU
Elongation from the Sun
37.85° — 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
2.226 AU
Eccentricity
0.4661
Inclination
25.17°
Orbital period
3.32 years
Perihelion
1.188 AU
Aphelion
3.263 AU
Longitude of ascending node
134.12°
Argument of periapsis
248.1°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · AMO
Amor
Earth MOID · 138.5 LD
0.3559 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.385

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
2,069
Data arc
71.27 years
First observed
23 March 1955
Last observed
29 June 2026
Residual RMS
0.5 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
2 September 2026

Physical properties

Rotation period
7.46 hours

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
15.15
Spectral type (SMASS)
S

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
McNaught, R. H.
Discovery date
21 August 1977
Discovery site
Siding Spring

Also known as 1977 QQ5

Amor Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 2 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2093-11-11 07:26:00 Mars 0.0826 AU 32.2 LD 15.3 km/s

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

Sources