Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

1996 BG1

Add to an observing list or journal →

(1996 BG1)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.002 AU
True anomaly
231.13°
Distance from Earth
1.839 AU
As of
20 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 1996 BG1 — 1.002 AU from the Sun 1996 BG1
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 1996 BG1 is 1.839 AU from Earth today (15.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 19m 24s
Declination
-01° 13′ 15″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.84 AU
Elongation from the Sun
23.13° — 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
0.897 AU
Eccentricity
0.2802
Inclination
3.83°
Orbital period
310.1 days
Perihelion
0.645 AU
Aphelion
1.148 AU
Longitude of ascending node
139.19°
Argument of periapsis
151°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 10.5 LD
0.0269 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.598

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
46
Data arc
27.9 years
First observed
21 January 1996
Last observed
17 December 2023
Residual RMS
0.49 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
28 December 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
23.72

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 207 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 1996 BG1 at 2028-12-03 11:48 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-12-03 11:48 UTC close approach of 1996 BG1. Catalogue miss distance 190.4 LD · 7.32 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-11-30 to 2028-12-06, 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 190.4 LD · 7.32 × 10⁷ km 2028-12-03 11:48 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-12-03 11:48 UTC close approach of 1996 BG1. Catalogue miss distance 190.4 LD · 7.32 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-11-30 to 2028-12-06, 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
2027-12-20 03:54:00 Venus 0.0342 AU 13.3 LD 7.5 km/s
2028-12-03 11:48:00 Earth 0.4892 AU 190.4 LD 23.7 km/s
2029-08-24 18:06:00 Earth 0.3302 AU 128.5 LD 10.6 km/s
2030-02-05 05:23:00 Earth 0.138 AU 53.7 LD 6.5 km/s
2034-10-06 11:08:00 Venus 0.1156 AU 45.0 LD 14.3 km/s
2034-11-20 01:13:00 Earth 0.1319 AU 51.3 LD 11.8 km/s
2035-07-07 22:45:00 Earth 0.3717 AU 144.7 LD 12.8 km/s
2036-02-28 21:49:00 Earth 0.1904 AU 74.1 LD 14.2 km/s
2038-10-30 09:44:00 Venus 0.044 AU 17.1 LD 10.4 km/s
2040-09-25 06:24:00 Earth 0.2617 AU 101.8 LD 6.7 km/s

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

Sources