Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

66008

Add to an observing list or journal →

66008 (1998 QH2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.064 AU
True anomaly
296.82°
Distance from Earth
1.719 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 66008 — 1.064 AU from the Sun 66008
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 66008 is 1.719 AU from Earth today (14.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
10h 55m 42s
Declination
-19° 10′ 20″
Constellation
Crater
Distance from Earth
1.72 AU
Elongation from the Sun
34.69° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

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
1.426 AU
Eccentricity
0.3628
Inclination
61.01°
Orbital period
622.1 days
Perihelion
0.909 AU
Aphelion
1.943 AU
Longitude of ascending node
168.92°
Argument of periapsis
14°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · APO
Apollo
Earth MOID · 29.8 LD
0.0765 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
4.122

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
1,950
Data arc
29.33 years
First observed
23 June 1996
Last observed
23 October 2025
Residual RMS
0.35 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
24 October 2025

Physical properties

Mean radius
0.74 km
Rotation period
7.09 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.319
Absolute magnitude (H)
15.93

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
LONEOS
Discovery date
20 August 1998
Discovery site
Anderson Mesa

Also known as 1998 QH2

Apollo Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 12 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 66008 at 2071-03-07 18:15 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2071-03-07 18:15 UTC close approach of 66008. Catalogue miss distance 35.6 LD · 1.37 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2071-03-04 to 2071-03-10, 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. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 35.6 LD · 1.37 × 10⁷ km 2071-03-07 18:15 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2071-03-07 18:15 UTC close approach of 66008. Catalogue miss distance 35.6 LD · 1.37 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2071-03-04 to 2071-03-10, 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. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2071-03-07 18:15:00 Earth 0.0914 AU 35.6 LD 34.3 km/s
2088-03-15 13:02:00 Earth 0.1529 AU 59.5 LD 34 km/s
2117-03-05 01:29:00 Earth 0.1445 AU 56.2 LD 34.7 km/s
2134-03-13 23:43:00 Earth 0.1 AU 38.9 LD 34 km/s
2163-03-02 23:19:00 Earth 0.1973 AU 76.8 LD 35.1 km/s
2180-03-11 08:55:00 Earth 0.0802 AU 31.2 LD 34.1 km/s

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

Sources