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Asteroid Near-Earth Potentially hazardous

242450

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242450 (2004 QY2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.562 AU
True anomaly
166.53°
Distance from Earth
2.428 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.

Sun Earth — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth 242450 — 1.562 AU from the Sun 242450
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 242450 is 2.428 AU from Earth today (20.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 50m 06s
Declination
-30° 13′ 20″
Constellation
Centaurus
Distance from Earth
2.43 AU
Elongation from the Sun
23.23° — 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.

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
1.084 AU
Eccentricity
0.4771
Inclination
37.03°
Orbital period
412.2 days
Perihelion
0.567 AU
Aphelion
1.601 AU
Longitude of ascending node
295.27°
Argument of periapsis
104.99°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · APO
Apollo
Earth MOID · 18.3 LD
0.047 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
5.441

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
3,754
Data arc
20.8 years
First observed
20 August 2004
Last observed
8 June 2025
Residual RMS
0.24 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
30 April 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
1.46 km

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.274
Absolute magnitude (H)
14.64

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Siding Spring Survey
Discovery date
20 August 2004
Discovery site
Siding Spring

Also known as 2004 QY2

Apollo Near-Earth Object Potentially Hazardous Asteroid

Close approaches 26 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 242450 at 2029-07-15 18:05 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-07-15 18:05 UTC close approach of 242450. Catalogue miss distance 18.3 LD · 7.05 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-07-12 to 2029-07-18, 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 13 Jul 18.3 LD · 7.05 × 10⁶ km 2029-07-15 18:05 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-07-15 18:05 UTC close approach of 242450. Catalogue miss distance 18.3 LD · 7.05 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-07-12 to 2029-07-18, 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
2029-07-15 18:05:00 Earth 0.0471 AU 18.3 LD 23.3 km/s
2038-07-22 12:07:00 Earth 0.1719 AU 66.9 LD 20.5 km/s
2064-07-10 20:54:00 Earth 0.1148 AU 44.7 LD 25.5 km/s
2068-02-26 14:19:00 Venus 0.1478 AU 57.5 LD 25.8 km/s
2073-07-17 00:31:00 Earth 0.0565 AU 22.0 LD 22.8 km/s
2074-12-03 09:30:00 Venus 0.1448 AU 56.4 LD 25.9 km/s
2081-09-09 06:48:00 Venus 0.1391 AU 54.1 LD 26 km/s
2082-07-22 20:11:00 Earth 0.1789 AU 69.6 LD 20.4 km/s
2088-06-16 04:06:00 Venus 0.1335 AU 52.0 LD 26.1 km/s
2095-03-23 22:17:00 Venus 0.1315 AU 51.2 LD 26.1 km/s

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

Sources