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Asteroid Near-Earth

1997 AC11

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(1997 AC11)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.906 AU
True anomaly
249.61°
Distance from Earth
1.602 AU
As of
21 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 — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth 1997 AC11 — 0.906 AU from the Sun 1997 AC11
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 1997 AC11 is 1.602 AU from Earth today (13.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 10m 45s
Declination
+08° 34′ 32″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.6 AU
Elongation from the Sun
30.85° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
0.913 AU
Eccentricity
0.368
Inclination
31.7°
Orbital period
318.8 days
Perihelion
0.577 AU
Aphelion
1.249 AU
Longitude of ascending node
116.92°
Argument of periapsis
141.58°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 40.3 LD
0.1034 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.361

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
171
Data arc
27.94 years
First observed
10 January 1997
Last observed
18 December 2024
Residual RMS
0.48 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
19 December 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
20.7
Spectral type (SMASS)
Xc

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 45 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 1997 AC11 at 2031-01-20 10:33 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2031-01-20 10:33 UTC close approach of 1997 AC11. Catalogue miss distance 72.0 LD · 2.77 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2031-01-17 to 2031-01-23, 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 72.0 LD · 2.77 × 10⁷ km 2031-01-20 10:33 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2031-01-20 10:33 UTC close approach of 1997 AC11. Catalogue miss distance 72.0 LD · 2.77 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2031-01-17 to 2031-01-23, 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
2027-11-23 12:25:00 Venus 0.0999 AU 38.9 LD 22 km/s
2031-01-20 10:33:00 Earth 0.1851 AU 72.0 LD 16.6 km/s
2038-01-22 07:33:00 Earth 0.1222 AU 47.6 LD 17.3 km/s
2038-05-16 12:03:00 Venus 0.127 AU 49.4 LD 23.9 km/s
2045-01-22 15:54:00 Earth 0.1062 AU 41.3 LD 18.5 km/s
2052-01-22 18:33:00 Earth 0.1569 AU 61.1 LD 20.3 km/s
2054-12-11 22:37:00 Venus 0.135 AU 52.5 LD 21.2 km/s
2065-06-04 07:18:00 Venus 0.0987 AU 38.4 LD 22.2 km/s
2075-11-25 20:35:00 Venus 0.1336 AU 52.0 LD 24.1 km/s
2079-01-20 11:32:00 Earth 0.1885 AU 73.4 LD 16.5 km/s

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

Sources