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Asteroid Near-Earth

Atira

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163693 Atira (2003 CP20)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.979 AU
True anomaly
183.07°
Distance from Earth
1.886 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 Atira — 0.979 AU from the Sun Atira
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. Atira is 1.886 AU from Earth today (15.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 02m 51s
Declination
+06° 56′ 36″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.89 AU
Elongation from the Sun
17.16° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
0.741 AU
Eccentricity
0.3222
Inclination
25.62°
Orbital period
233 days
Perihelion
0.502 AU
Aphelion
0.98 AU
Longitude of ascending node
103.87°
Argument of periapsis
252.93°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · IEO
Atira (interior-Earth object)
Earth MOID · 80.7 LD
0.2073 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.667

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
1,080
Data arc
23.21 years
First observed
12 February 2003
Last observed
28 April 2026
Residual RMS
0.32 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
28 April 2026

Physical properties

Rotation period
3.4 hours

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
16.41

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
LINEAR
Discovery date
11 February 2003
Discovery site
Socorro

Atira is the Pawnee goddess of Earth and the evening star. This is the first numbered minor planet to have an orbit completely interior to that of the earth.

Also known as 163693 · 2003 CP20

Atira Near-Earth Object Named

Close approaches 66 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2032-10-01 09:44:00 Venus 0.1251 AU 48.7 LD 20.2 km/s
2033-05-26 12:49:00 Venus 0.1398 AU 54.4 LD 17 km/s
2036-02-29 19:03:00 Venus 0.0876 AU 34.1 LD 15.4 km/s
2036-10-14 02:06:00 Venus 0.0796 AU 31.0 LD 20.3 km/s
2049-12-21 20:34:00 Venus 0.1343 AU 52.3 LD 20.7 km/s
2050-08-15 10:50:00 Venus 0.1303 AU 50.7 LD 17.2 km/s
2053-05-22 10:19:00 Venus 0.1053 AU 41.0 LD 15 km/s
2054-01-04 05:08:00 Venus 0.0624 AU 24.3 LD 19.6 km/s
2067-03-13 23:41:00 Venus 0.1386 AU 53.9 LD 21 km/s
2067-11-05 10:29:00 Venus 0.1268 AU 49.4 LD 17.2 km/s

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

Sources