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Asteroid Near-Earth

2001 BB16

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(2001 BB16)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.708 AU
True anomaly
355.06°
Distance from Earth
1.039 AU
As of
19 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 — 0.996 AU from the Sun Earth 2001 BB16 — 0.708 AU from the Sun 2001 BB16
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2001 BB16 is 1.039 AU from Earth today (8.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
16h 24m 16s
Declination
-21° 55′ 12″
Constellation
Ophiuchus
Distance from Earth
1.03 AU
Elongation from the Sun
40.83° — 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
0.855 AU
Eccentricity
0.1723
Inclination
2.03°
Orbital period
289 days
Perihelion
0.708 AU
Aphelion
1.003 AU
Longitude of ascending node
122.32°
Argument of periapsis
196.08°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 1.9 LD
0.0049 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.881

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
57
Data arc
19.07 years
First observed
20 January 2001
Last observed
17 February 2020
Residual RMS
0.41 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
20 December 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
23.2

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 166 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2001 BB16 at 2027-07-30 19:45 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-07-30 19:45 UTC close approach of 2001 BB16. Catalogue miss distance 118.8 LD · 4.57 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-07-27 to 2027-08-02, 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 118.8 LD · 4.57 × 10⁷ km 2027-07-30 19:45 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-07-30 19:45 UTC close approach of 2001 BB16. Catalogue miss distance 118.8 LD · 4.57 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-07-27 to 2027-08-02, 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
2027-07-30 19:45:00 Earth 0.3052 AU 118.8 LD 9 km/s
2031-01-08 00:16:00 Earth 0.2642 AU 102.8 LD 12.2 km/s
2031-06-19 02:03:00 Earth 0.2699 AU 105.0 LD 7.1 km/s
2035-01-10 12:11:00 Earth 0.0142 AU 5.5 LD 4.1 km/s
2039-02-10 12:39:00 Earth 0.0219 AU 8.5 LD 3.3 km/s
2042-10-01 18:20:00 Venus 0.0256 AU 10.0 LD 4.7 km/s
2042-11-15 01:04:00 Earth 0.1791 AU 69.7 LD 2.4 km/s
2043-03-09 01:09:00 Earth 0.0459 AU 17.9 LD 4.9 km/s
2046-10-22 05:51:00 Earth 0.221 AU 86.0 LD 4.9 km/s
2047-03-11 11:46:00 Earth 0.1157 AU 45.0 LD 7.4 km/s

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

Sources