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Asteroid Near-Earth

1991 VG

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(1991 VG)

1991 VG is an asteroid in the Apollo orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.98 AU to 1.09 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 383.1 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 22 November 2023.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.081 AU
True anomaly
154.79°
Distance from Earth
1.994 AU
As of
3 November 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 — 0.992 AU from the Sun Earth 1991 VG — 1.081 AU from the Sun 1991 VG
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 1991 VG is 1.994 AU from Earth today (16.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
15h 46m 05s
Declination
-19° 55′ 01″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
1.99 AU
Elongation from the Sun
16.48° — 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
1.032 AU
Eccentricity
0.0525
Inclination
1.43°
Orbital period
383.1 days
Perihelion
0.978 AU
Aphelion
1.087 AU
Longitude of ascending node
71.27°
Argument of periapsis
26.95°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · APO
Apollo
Earth MOID · 0.9 LD
0.0023 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
5.93

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
70
Data arc
25.57 years
First observed
6 November 1991
Last observed
1 June 2017
Residual RMS
0.49 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
22 November 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
28.3

Discovery & classification

Apollo Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 45 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 1991 VG at 2037-10-16 21:15 UTC Sun 146.1 LD · 5.62 × 10⁷ km 2037-10-16 21:15 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2037-10-16 21:15 UTC close approach of 1991 VG. Catalogue miss distance 146.1 LD · 5.62 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2037-10-13 to 2037-10-19, 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. 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
2037-10-16 21:15:00 Earth 0.3754 AU 146.1 LD 12 km/s
2038-11-07 13:23:00 Earth 0.0702 AU 27.3 LD 3 km/s
2039-05-28 08:32:00 Earth 0.0599 AU 23.3 LD 1.5 km/s
2040-02-26 08:58:00 Earth 0.1716 AU 66.8 LD 5.9 km/s
2041-03-15 03:18:00 Earth 0.4505 AU 175.3 LD 14.3 km/s
2060-10-08 08:07:00 Earth 0.4504 AU 175.3 LD 14.3 km/s
2061-10-26 19:25:00 Earth 0.1718 AU 66.9 LD 6 km/s
2062-07-27 00:05:00 Earth 0.0632 AU 24.6 LD 1.4 km/s
2063-02-14 20:40:00 Earth 0.0715 AU 27.8 LD 2.8 km/s
2064-03-06 21:14:00 Earth 0.3752 AU 146.0 LD 12.1 km/s

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

Sources