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Asteroid Near-Earth

8201

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8201 (1994 AH2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.251 AU
True anomaly
88.56°
Distance from Earth
1.734 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 8201 — 1.251 AU from the Sun 8201
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 8201 is 1.734 AU from Earth today (14.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
16h 12m 21s
Declination
-14° 45′ 23″
Constellation
Scorpius
Distance from Earth
1.74 AU
Elongation from the Sun
45.26° — 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
2.54 AU
Eccentricity
0.7061
Inclination
9.54°
Orbital period
4.05 years
Perihelion
0.746 AU
Aphelion
4.334 AU
Longitude of ascending node
164.07°
Argument of periapsis
25.11°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · APO
Apollo
Earth MOID · 39.2 LD
0.1007 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.024

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
1,010
Data arc
44.18 years
First observed
16 December 1981
Last observed
20 February 2026
Residual RMS
0.51 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
23 February 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
0.93 km
Rotation period
23.95 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.154
Absolute magnitude (H)
15.92
Spectral type (SMASS)
O

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Garradd, G. J.
Discovery date
5 January 1994
Discovery site
Siding Spring

Also known as 1994 AH2

Apollo Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 19 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 8201 at 2091-01-15 05:50 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2091-01-15 05:50 UTC close approach of 8201. Catalogue miss distance 69.2 LD · 2.66 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2091-01-12 to 2091-01-18, 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 south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 69.2 LD · 2.66 × 10⁷ km 2091-01-15 05:50 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2091-01-15 05:50 UTC close approach of 8201. Catalogue miss distance 69.2 LD · 2.66 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2091-01-12 to 2091-01-18, 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 south 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
2091-01-15 05:50:00 Earth 0.1777 AU 69.2 LD 22.6 km/s
2095-01-13 10:04:00 Earth 0.1839 AU 71.6 LD 23.1 km/s
2105-10-24 19:13:00 Juptr 1.9485 AU 758.3 LD 11.3 km/s
2107-02-07 14:59:00 Venus 0.0749 AU 29.1 LD 15.2 km/s
2117-09-05 18:58:00 Juptr 1.9406 AU 755.2 LD 11.3 km/s
2161-11-18 00:46:00 Venus 0.0989 AU 38.5 LD 17.9 km/s

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

Sources