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Asteroid Near-Earth

338292

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338292 (2002 UA31)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.435 AU
True anomaly
34.68°
Distance from Earth
1.364 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 338292 — 0.435 AU from the Sun 338292
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 338292 is 1.364 AU from Earth today (11.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 17m 10s
Declination
-07° 53′ 11″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.36 AU
Elongation from the Sun
12.06° — 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
0.799 AU
Eccentricity
0.4871
Inclination
30.71°
Orbital period
260.7 days
Perihelion
0.41 AU
Aphelion
1.188 AU
Longitude of ascending node
209.3°
Argument of periapsis
358.68°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 74.6 LD
0.1917 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.103

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
548
Data arc
22.84 years
First observed
31 October 2002
Last observed
2 September 2025
Residual RMS
0.39 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
3 September 2025

Physical properties

Rotation period
2.56 hours

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
19.11

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
LINEAR
Discovery date
31 October 2002
Discovery site
Socorro

Also known as 2002 UA31

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 97 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 338292 at 2047-10-16 21:19 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2047-10-16 21:19 UTC close approach of 338292. Catalogue miss distance 77.7 LD · 2.99 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2047-10-13 to 2047-10-19, 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 a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 77.7 LD · 2.99 × 10⁷ km 2047-10-16 21:19 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2047-10-16 21:19 UTC close approach of 338292. Catalogue miss distance 77.7 LD · 2.99 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2047-10-13 to 2047-10-19, 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 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
2032-06-25 09:08:00 Merc 0.0573 AU 22.3 LD 34.6 km/s
2032-06-25 09:08:00 Mercury 0.0573 AU 22.3 LD 34.6 km/s
2033-03-12 12:40:00 Mercury 0.0314 AU 12.2 LD 35.6 km/s
2033-03-12 12:40:00 Merc 0.0314 AU 12.2 LD 35.6 km/s
2047-10-16 21:19:00 Earth 0.1998 AU 77.7 LD 16.6 km/s
2052-06-20 17:07:00 Merc 0.0394 AU 15.3 LD 34.7 km/s
2052-06-20 17:07:00 Mercury 0.0394 AU 15.3 LD 34.7 km/s
2052-10-16 23:51:00 Earth 0.1982 AU 77.1 LD 16.6 km/s
2053-03-07 23:55:00 Merc 0.0489 AU 19.0 LD 36.3 km/s
2053-03-07 23:55:00 Mercury 0.0489 AU 19.0 LD 36.3 km/s

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

Sources