Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 0.45 AU
- True anomaly
- 51.85°
- Distance from Earth
- 0.665 AU
- As of
- 22 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.
In the sky
- Right ascension
- 14h 49m 12s
- Declination
- -28° 19′ 18″
- Constellation
- Hydra
- Distance from Earth
- 0.65 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 21.63° — 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.
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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
- 0.954 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.5953
- Inclination
- 17.81°
- Orbital period
- 340.3 days
- Perihelion
- 0.386 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.522 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 114.25°
- Argument of periapsis
- 195°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · ATE
- Aten
- Earth MOID · 67.0 LD
- 0.1722 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 6.109
Orbit quality
Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).
- Observations used
- 364
- Data arc
- 25.21 years
- First observed
- 2 January 2001
- Last observed
- 19 March 2026
- Residual RMS
- 0.51 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 20 March 2026
Physical properties
- Mean radius
- 0.46 km
Visual & observation
- Geometric albedo
- 0.028
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 19.48
Discovery & classification
- Discovered by
- LINEAR
- Discovery date
- 2 January 2001
- Discovery site
- Socorro
Also known as 2001 AF2
Close approaches 93 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-12-14 17:02 UTC close approach of 88213. Catalogue miss distance 73.7 LD · 2.83 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-12-11 to 2026-12-17, 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.
| When (UTC) | Body | Distance | Lunar distances | Relative speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-06 16:08:00 | Merc | 0.0888 AU | 34.6 LD | 23.5 km/s |
| 2026-10-06 16:08:00 | Mercury | 0.0888 AU | 34.6 LD | 23.5 km/s |
| 2026-12-14 17:02:00 | Earth | 0.1893 AU | 73.7 LD | 17.7 km/s |
| 2033-04-23 02:01:00 | Mercury | 0.0509 AU | 19.8 LD | 29.9 km/s |
| 2033-04-23 02:01:00 | Merc | 0.0509 AU | 19.8 LD | 29.9 km/s |
| 2040-10-02 10:48:00 | Merc | 0.0517 AU | 20.1 LD | 23.6 km/s |
| 2040-10-02 10:48:00 | Mercury | 0.0517 AU | 20.1 LD | 23.6 km/s |
| 2053-12-16 00:03:00 | Earth | 0.1777 AU | 69.1 LD | 21 km/s |
| 2054-09-27 14:11:00 | Merc | 0.0239 AU | 9.3 LD | 26.9 km/s |
| 2054-09-27 14:11:00 | Mercury | 0.0239 AU | 9.3 LD | 26.9 km/s |
Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.
Sources
- visual properties: JPL SBDB (lookup)
- physical properties: JPL SBDB (lookup)
- visual properties: JPL SBDB (lookup)
- orbital elements: JPL SBDB