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Asteroid Near-Earth

286079

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286079 (2001 TW1)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.45 AU
True anomaly
28.23°
Distance from Earth
1.301 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 286079 — 0.45 AU from the Sun 286079
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 286079 is 1.301 AU from Earth today (10.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 31m 22s
Declination
-24° 13′ 29″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
1.3 AU
Elongation from the Sun
17° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
0.911 AU
Eccentricity
0.5261
Inclination
31.32°
Orbital period
317.8 days
Perihelion
0.432 AU
Aphelion
1.391 AU
Longitude of ascending node
27.33°
Argument of periapsis
208.83°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 57.7 LD
0.1482 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.318

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
459
Data arc
22.03 years
First observed
9 October 2001
Last observed
19 October 2023
Residual RMS
0.51 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
20 October 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
19.29

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
LINEAR
Discovery date
9 October 2001
Discovery site
Socorro

Also known as 2001 TW1

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 139 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 286079 at 2027-10-22 05:30 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-10-22 05:30 UTC close approach of 286079. Catalogue miss distance 182.6 LD · 7.02 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-10-19 to 2027-10-25, 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 182.6 LD · 7.02 × 10⁷ km 2027-10-22 05:30 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-10-22 05:30 UTC close approach of 286079. Catalogue miss distance 182.6 LD · 7.02 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-10-19 to 2027-10-25, 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
2027-10-22 05:30:00 Earth 0.4691 AU 182.6 LD 32.6 km/s
2028-10-14 02:23:00 Earth 0.2612 AU 101.6 LD 17.6 km/s
2031-12-26 21:53:00 Mercury 0.0591 AU 23.0 LD 32.6 km/s
2031-12-26 21:53:00 Merc 0.0591 AU 23.0 LD 32.6 km/s
2034-10-14 09:37:00 Earth 0.2709 AU 105.4 LD 26.1 km/s
2035-10-24 11:36:00 Earth 0.3865 AU 150.4 LD 17.2 km/s
2036-05-03 11:57:00 Merc 0.0869 AU 33.8 LD 24.7 km/s
2036-05-03 11:57:00 Mercury 0.0869 AU 33.8 LD 24.7 km/s
2041-10-10 02:49:00 Earth 0.1487 AU 57.9 LD 20.7 km/s
2042-11-04 14:28:00 Earth 0.4776 AU 185.9 LD 17.3 km/s

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

Sources