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Asteroid Near-Earth

2001 OT

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(2001 OT)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.13 AU
True anomaly
216.55°
Distance from Earth
1.544 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 2001 OT — 1.13 AU from the Sun 2001 OT
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2001 OT is 1.544 AU from Earth today (12.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
16h 59m 10s
Declination
-22° 39′ 59″
Constellation
Ophiuchus
Distance from Earth
1.54 AU
Elongation from the Sun
46.69° — 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
0.934 AU
Eccentricity
0.3228
Inclination
12.06°
Orbital period
329.7 days
Perihelion
0.633 AU
Aphelion
1.235 AU
Longitude of ascending node
295.77°
Argument of periapsis
143.01°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 24.4 LD
0.0627 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.355

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
98
Data arc
18.11 years
First observed
16 July 2001
Last observed
27 August 2019
Residual RMS
0.4 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
20 December 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
21.7

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 180 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2001 OT at 2027-04-13 07:32 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-04-13 07:32 UTC close approach of 2001 OT. Catalogue miss distance 117.5 LD · 4.52 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-04-10 to 2027-04-16, 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 south of the ecliptic. The path is approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. approximate Sun 117.5 LD · 4.52 × 10⁷ km 2027-04-13 07:32 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-04-13 07:32 UTC close approach of 2001 OT. Catalogue miss distance 117.5 LD · 4.52 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-04-10 to 2027-04-16, 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 south of the ecliptic. The path is approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2027-04-13 07:32:00 Earth 0.3019 AU 117.5 LD 16 km/s
2028-01-25 01:11:00 Earth 0.304 AU 118.3 LD 12.4 km/s
2028-06-10 12:16:00 Earth 0.2666 AU 103.8 LD 8.5 km/s
2028-11-08 00:04:00 Earth 0.3679 AU 143.2 LD 12 km/s
2029-08-01 16:30:00 Earth 0.1353 AU 52.7 LD 13.4 km/s
2036-02-20 18:33:00 Venus 0.1125 AU 43.8 LD 12.2 km/s
2036-04-20 15:56:00 Earth 0.4288 AU 166.9 LD 20.7 km/s
2037-02-17 18:52:00 Earth 0.2576 AU 100.2 LD 10.1 km/s
2037-05-15 14:55:00 Earth 0.2695 AU 104.9 LD 7.6 km/s
2037-11-29 17:14:00 Earth 0.3723 AU 144.9 LD 13.8 km/s

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

Sources