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Asteroid Near-Earth

331471

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331471 (1984 QY1)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
4.461 AU
True anomaly
186.98°
Distance from Earth
4.252 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.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth 331471 — 4.461 AU from the Sun 331471
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 331471 is 4.252 AU from Earth today (35.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
19h 40m 33s
Declination
-17° 20′ 19″
Constellation
Sagittarius
Distance from Earth
4.26 AU
Elongation from the Sun
94.93° — well clear of the Sun

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.

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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
2.502 AU
Eccentricity
0.8935
Inclination
14.29°
Orbital period
3.96 years
Perihelion
0.267 AU
Aphelion
4.738 AU
Longitude of ascending node
142.23°
Argument of periapsis
337.21°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · APO
Apollo
Earth MOID · 53.1 LD
0.1363 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.683

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
2,471
Data arc
41.82 years
First observed
27 August 1984
Last observed
23 June 2026
Residual RMS
0.33 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
4 August 2026

Physical properties

Rotation period
45.5 hours

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
15.52

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Helin, E. F., Rose, P.
Discovery date
27 August 1984
Discovery site
Palomar

Also known as 1984 QY1 · 2007 VB1 · 2011 NQ

Apollo Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 25 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 331471 at 2151-09-24 05:32 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2151-09-24 05:32 UTC close approach of 331471. Catalogue miss distance 66.8 LD · 2.57 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2151-09-21 to 2151-09-27, 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 Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 22 Sep 27 Sep 66.8 LD · 2.57 × 10⁷ km 2151-09-24 05:32 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2151-09-24 05:32 UTC close approach of 331471. Catalogue miss distance 66.8 LD · 2.57 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2151-09-21 to 2151-09-27, 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 Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2036-01-04 23:24:00 Venus 0.1186 AU 46.2 LD 32.3 km/s
2079-11-26 03:59:00 Merc 0.0392 AU 15.3 LD 31.3 km/s
2079-11-26 03:59:00 Mercury 0.0392 AU 15.3 LD 31.3 km/s
2111-11-18 23:13:00 Merc 0.0907 AU 35.3 LD 28.9 km/s
2111-11-18 23:13:00 Mercury 0.0907 AU 35.3 LD 28.9 km/s
2131-11-22 13:42:00 Mercury 0.0764 AU 29.7 LD 26.7 km/s
2131-11-22 13:42:00 Merc 0.0764 AU 29.7 LD 26.7 km/s
2151-09-24 05:32:00 Earth 0.1716 AU 66.8 LD 29.6 km/s
2155-09-17 18:52:00 Earth 0.1589 AU 61.8 LD 33.8 km/s
2167-08-31 07:46:00 Venus 0.1223 AU 47.6 LD 32.9 km/s

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

Sources