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Asteroid Near-Earth

2001 CQ36

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(2001 CQ36)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.097 AU
True anomaly
193.51°
Distance from Earth
2.092 AU
As of
22 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 2001 CQ36 — 1.097 AU from the Sun 2001 CQ36
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2001 CQ36 is 2.092 AU from Earth today (17.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 48m 36s
Declination
-11° 10′ 20″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
2.09 AU
Elongation from the Sun
0.23° — 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
0.937 AU
Eccentricity
0.1772
Inclination
1.26°
Orbital period
331.5 days
Perihelion
0.771 AU
Aphelion
1.104 AU
Longitude of ascending node
30.54°
Argument of periapsis
344.89°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 5.4 LD
0.0139 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.386

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
159
Data arc
21.22 years
First observed
13 February 2001
Last observed
5 May 2022
Residual RMS
0.4 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
20 December 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
22.74

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 128 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2001 CQ36 at 2031-01-31 23:53 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2031-01-31 23:53 UTC close approach of 2001 CQ36. Catalogue miss distance 8.76 LD · 3.37 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2031-01-28 to 2031-02-03, 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 29 Jan 3 Feb 8.76 LD · 3.37 × 10⁶ km 2031-01-31 23:53 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2031-01-31 23:53 UTC close approach of 2001 CQ36. Catalogue miss distance 8.76 LD · 3.37 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2031-01-28 to 2031-02-03, 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
2031-01-31 23:53:00 Earth 0.0225 AU 8.8 LD 5.2 km/s
2031-09-18 09:47:00 Earth 0.2246 AU 87.4 LD 6.8 km/s
2032-05-29 08:52:00 Earth 0.148 AU 57.6 LD 9.4 km/s
2033-06-18 08:37:00 Venus 0.1427 AU 55.6 LD 1.4 km/s
2035-05-28 05:13:00 Venus 0.0812 AU 31.6 LD 2.6 km/s
2041-01-31 12:53:00 Earth 0.0387 AU 15.0 LD 5.9 km/s
2041-09-24 03:43:00 Earth 0.225 AU 87.6 LD 6.9 km/s
2042-05-31 17:20:00 Earth 0.1156 AU 45.0 LD 8.4 km/s
2051-02-03 14:49:00 Earth 0.1408 AU 54.8 LD 9.2 km/s
2051-10-14 23:55:00 Earth 0.2234 AU 86.9 LD 6.9 km/s

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

Sources