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Asteroid Near-Earth

163023

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163023 (2001 XU1)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.972 AU
True anomaly
141.02°
Distance from Earth
0.629 AU
As of
16 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.

Sun Earth — 0.997 AU from the Sun Earth 163023 — 0.972 AU from the Sun 163023
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 163023 is 0.629 AU from Earth today (5.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
08h 58m 57s
Declination
+09° 44′ 45″
Constellation
Cancer
Distance from Earth
0.63 AU
Elongation from the Sun
69.77° — well clear of the Sun

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
0.797 AU
Eccentricity
0.5464
Inclination
27.15°
Orbital period
260.1 days
Perihelion
0.362 AU
Aphelion
1.233 AU
Longitude of ascending node
69.68°
Argument of periapsis
208.54°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 21.8 LD
0.056 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.109

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
383
Data arc
23.07 years
First observed
23 November 2001
Last observed
20 December 2024
Residual RMS
0.44 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
10 January 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
19.52

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
LINEAR
Discovery date
8 December 2001
Discovery site
Socorro

Also known as 2001 XU1

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 110 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 163023 at 2033-11-28 14:47 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2033-11-28 14:47 UTC close approach of 163023. Catalogue miss distance 50.4 LD · 1.94 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2033-11-25 to 2033-12-01, 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 50.4 LD · 1.94 × 10⁷ km 2033-11-28 14:47 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2033-11-28 14:47 UTC close approach of 163023. Catalogue miss distance 50.4 LD · 1.94 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2033-11-25 to 2033-12-01, 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
2033-11-28 14:47:00 Earth 0.1296 AU 50.4 LD 22.3 km/s
2034-06-09 16:19:00 Merc 0.0905 AU 35.2 LD 28 km/s
2034-06-09 16:19:00 Mercury 0.0905 AU 35.2 LD 28 km/s
2035-02-21 11:18:00 Merc 0.0823 AU 32.0 LD 30.3 km/s
2035-02-21 11:18:00 Mercury 0.0823 AU 32.0 LD 30.3 km/s
2038-11-27 13:46:00 Earth 0.0664 AU 25.8 LD 20.1 km/s
2043-11-27 16:57:00 Earth 0.0677 AU 26.3 LD 18.4 km/s
2048-11-28 07:43:00 Earth 0.1241 AU 48.3 LD 17.2 km/s
2050-10-27 05:53:00 Mercury 0.0947 AU 36.8 LD 28 km/s
2050-10-27 05:53:00 Merc 0.0947 AU 36.8 LD 28 km/s

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

Sources