Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

96744

Add to an observing list or journal →

96744 (1999 OW3)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.517 AU
True anomaly
149.72°
Distance from Earth
1.522 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 96744 — 2.517 AU from the Sun 96744
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 96744 is 1.522 AU from Earth today (12.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
01h 27m 58s
Declination
+03° 24′ 50″
Constellation
Pisces
Distance from Earth
1.53 AU
Elongation from the Sun
174.03° — near opposition — up most of the night

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
2.095 AU
Eccentricity
0.7791
Inclination
34.72°
Orbital period
3.03 years
Perihelion
0.463 AU
Aphelion
3.728 AU
Longitude of ascending node
195.87°
Argument of periapsis
35.93°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · APO
Apollo
Earth MOID · 141.1 LD
0.3625 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.137

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
2,421
Data arc
27.23 years
First observed
18 July 1999
Last observed
10 October 2026
Residual RMS
0.48 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
10 October 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
14.78

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Tholen, D. J., Whiteley, R. J.
Discovery date
18 July 1999
Discovery site
Mauna Kea

Also known as 1999 OW3

Apollo Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 24 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2065-09-15 22:25:00 Merc 0.0662 AU 25.8 LD 40.5 km/s
2065-09-15 22:25:00 Mercury 0.0662 AU 25.8 LD 40.5 km/s
2096-01-19 15:39:00 Merc 0.0669 AU 26.0 LD 43.1 km/s
2096-01-19 15:39:00 Mercury 0.0669 AU 26.0 LD 43.1 km/s
2118-07-09 23:41:00 Juptr 1.8656 AU 726.0 LD 8.5 km/s
2129-04-17 12:41:00 Mercury 0.05 AU 19.4 LD 41 km/s
2129-04-17 12:41:00 Merc 0.05 AU 19.4 LD 41 km/s
2130-06-28 17:10:00 Juptr 1.7483 AU 680.4 LD 8.8 km/s
2142-06-24 15:40:00 Juptr 1.7606 AU 685.2 LD 9.6 km/s
2154-06-29 01:35:00 Juptr 1.9053 AU 741.5 LD 10.7 km/s

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

Sources