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Asteroid Near-Earth

469737

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469737 (2005 NW44)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.131 AU
True anomaly
167.4°
Distance from Earth
1.64 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 469737 — 1.131 AU from the Sun 469737
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 469737 is 1.64 AU from Earth today (13.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
16h 18m 28s
Declination
-20° 33′ 09″
Constellation
Scorpius
Distance from Earth
1.64 AU
Elongation from the Sun
42.59° — 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
0.779 AU
Eccentricity
0.4834
Inclination
6.07°
Orbital period
251.3 days
Perihelion
0.403 AU
Aphelion
1.156 AU
Longitude of ascending node
114.26°
Argument of periapsis
0.98°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 20.9 LD
0.0536 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.35

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
377
Data arc
20.07 years
First observed
10 July 2005
Last observed
5 August 2025
Residual RMS
0.35 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
25 August 2026

Physical properties

Rotation period
31.5 hours

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
20.39

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
CSS
Discovery date
10 July 2005
Discovery site
Catalina

Also known as 2005 NW44

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 148 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 469737 at 2027-07-23 14:38 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-07-23 14:38 UTC close approach of 469737. Catalogue miss distance 53.7 LD · 2.06 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-07-20 to 2027-07-26, 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. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 53.7 LD · 2.06 × 10⁷ km 2027-07-23 14:38 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-07-23 14:38 UTC close approach of 469737. Catalogue miss distance 53.7 LD · 2.06 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-07-20 to 2027-07-26, 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. 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
2027-07-23 14:38:00 Earth 0.1379 AU 53.7 LD 9.7 km/s
2029-06-15 10:33:00 Earth 0.0734 AU 28.6 LD 13.2 km/s
2029-11-03 10:59:00 Venus 0.0313 AU 12.2 LD 17.7 km/s
2036-08-19 16:02:00 Earth 0.0892 AU 34.7 LD 13.8 km/s
2037-08-12 02:13:00 Venus 0.1195 AU 46.5 LD 22.8 km/s
2038-07-16 03:22:00 Earth 0.1393 AU 54.2 LD 9.7 km/s
2040-06-15 12:06:00 Earth 0.1097 AU 42.7 LD 14.7 km/s
2041-07-14 11:20:00 Venus 0.0622 AU 24.2 LD 14.9 km/s
2043-02-17 05:33:00 Venus 0.1329 AU 51.7 LD 11.6 km/s
2047-08-19 22:22:00 Earth 0.0602 AU 23.4 LD 12.2 km/s

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

Sources