Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

488803

Add to an observing list or journal →

488803 (2005 GB120)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.608 AU
True anomaly
284.45°
Distance from Earth
0.808 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 488803 — 0.608 AU from the Sun 488803
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 488803 is 0.808 AU from Earth today (6.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
15h 57m 12s
Declination
-19° 09′ 13″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
0.8 AU
Elongation from the Sun
37.3° — 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
0.791 AU
Eccentricity
0.3947
Inclination
9.15°
Orbital period
257 days
Perihelion
0.479 AU
Aphelion
1.103 AU
Longitude of ascending node
160.84°
Argument of periapsis
243.85°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 28.7 LD
0.0737 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.285

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
239
Data arc
19.13 years
First observed
12 April 2005
Last observed
30 May 2024
Residual RMS
0.48 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
31 May 2024

Physical properties

Mean radius
0.10 km

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.283
Absolute magnitude (H)
20.48

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
LONEOS
Discovery date
12 April 2005
Discovery site
Anderson Mesa

Also known as 2005 GB120

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 228 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 488803 at 2029-01-29 06:46 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-01-29 06:46 UTC close approach of 488803. Catalogue miss distance 141.4 LD · 5.43 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-01-26 to 2029-02-01, 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 141.4 LD · 5.43 × 10⁷ km 2029-01-29 06:46 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-01-29 06:46 UTC close approach of 488803. Catalogue miss distance 141.4 LD · 5.43 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-01-26 to 2029-02-01, 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
2029-01-29 06:46:00 Earth 0.3632 AU 141.4 LD 8.2 km/s
2029-05-29 15:09:00 Earth 0.1733 AU 67.5 LD 7.8 km/s
2030-12-25 15:02:00 Venus 0.1036 AU 40.3 LD 13.4 km/s
2031-04-05 15:17:00 Earth 0.3231 AU 125.7 LD 20.1 km/s
2031-09-29 23:54:00 Earth 0.49 AU 190.7 LD 18.5 km/s
2034-06-01 03:13:00 Earth 0.3786 AU 147.4 LD 20.6 km/s
2035-11-29 17:36:00 Venus 0.1144 AU 44.5 LD 12.3 km/s
2036-04-04 19:31:00 Earth 0.1333 AU 51.9 LD 7.9 km/s
2036-08-02 15:08:00 Earth 0.3464 AU 134.8 LD 8.2 km/s
2040-11-03 02:25:00 Venus 0.1269 AU 49.4 LD 11.6 km/s

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

Sources