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Asteroid Near-Earth Potentially hazardous

208023

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208023 (1999 AQ10)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.062 AU
True anomaly
136.04°
Distance from Earth
0.301 AU
As of
21 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 — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth 208023 — 1.062 AU from the Sun 208023
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 208023 is 0.301 AU from Earth today (2.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
08h 03m 27s
Declination
+44° 03′ 43″
Constellation
Lynx
Distance from Earth
0.3 AU
Elongation from the Sun
95.21° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
0.934 AU
Eccentricity
0.2353
Inclination
6.5°
Orbital period
329.6 days
Perihelion
0.714 AU
Aphelion
1.154 AU
Longitude of ascending node
326.95°
Argument of periapsis
300.62°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 2.4 LD
0.0061 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.39

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
444
Data arc
27 years
First observed
14 January 1999
Last observed
14 January 2026
Residual RMS
0.38 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
28 January 2026

Physical properties

Rotation period
2.67 hours

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
20.53
Spectral type (SMASS)
S:

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
LINEAR
Discovery date
14 January 1999
Discovery site
Socorro

Also known as 1999 AQ10

Aten Near-Earth Object Potentially Hazardous Asteroid

Close approaches 84 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 208023 at 2026-12-23 13:13 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-12-23 13:13 UTC close approach of 208023. Catalogue miss distance 77.1 LD · 2.96 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-12-20 to 2026-12-26, 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 north of the ecliptic. The path is approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. approximate Sun 77.1 LD · 2.96 × 10⁷ km 2026-12-23 13:13 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-12-23 13:13 UTC close approach of 208023. Catalogue miss distance 77.1 LD · 2.96 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-12-20 to 2026-12-26, 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 north of the ecliptic. The path is approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2026-12-23 13:13:00 Earth 0.1981 AU 77.1 LD 6.3 km/s
2035-09-11 06:25:00 Earth 0.1866 AU 72.6 LD 5.8 km/s
2035-11-17 10:26:00 Earth 0.1811 AU 70.5 LD 5.3 km/s
2036-06-22 10:40:00 Venus 0.05 AU 19.5 LD 6.4 km/s
2037-02-15 21:47:00 Earth 0.1307 AU 50.9 LD 11.7 km/s
2044-10-06 17:08:00 Earth 0.1306 AU 50.8 LD 5.3 km/s
2046-02-17 20:43:00 Earth 0.062 AU 24.1 LD 9.7 km/s
2048-03-20 11:45:00 Venus 0.1224 AU 47.6 LD 12.1 km/s
2053-10-10 05:34:00 Earth 0.1151 AU 44.8 LD 5.9 km/s
2055-02-18 09:53:00 Earth 0.0451 AU 17.5 LD 9.2 km/s

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

Sources