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Asteroid Near-Earth Potentially hazardous

2002 AY1

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(2002 AY1)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.954 AU
True anomaly
219.04°
Distance from Earth
1.343 AU
As of
16 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 — 0.997 AU from the Sun Earth 2002 AY1 — 0.954 AU from the Sun 2002 AY1
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2002 AY1 is 1.343 AU from Earth today (11.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
10h 39m 04s
Declination
+07° 18′ 48″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
1.34 AU
Elongation from the Sun
45.19° — 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
0.779 AU
Eccentricity
0.4371
Inclination
29.9°
Orbital period
251.2 days
Perihelion
0.439 AU
Aphelion
1.12 AU
Longitude of ascending node
287.84°
Argument of periapsis
323.81°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 2.9 LD
0.0076 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.281

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
270
Data arc
24.1 years
First observed
7 January 2002
Last observed
11 February 2026
Residual RMS
0.35 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
23 February 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
20.86

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object Potentially Hazardous Asteroid

Close approaches 124 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2002 AY1 at 2035-01-08 13:07 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2035-01-08 13:07 UTC close approach of 2002 AY1. Catalogue miss distance 25.4 LD · 9.75 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2035-01-05 to 2035-01-11, 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 25.4 LD · 9.75 × 10⁶ km 2035-01-08 13:07 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2035-01-08 13:07 UTC close approach of 2002 AY1. Catalogue miss distance 25.4 LD · 9.75 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2035-01-05 to 2035-01-11, 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
2026-12-30 16:42:00 Mercury 0.0274 AU 10.7 LD 30.5 km/s
2026-12-30 16:42:00 Merc 0.0274 AU 10.7 LD 30.5 km/s
2031-10-24 04:08:00 Merc 0.0435 AU 16.9 LD 30.1 km/s
2031-10-24 04:08:00 Mercury 0.0435 AU 16.9 LD 30.1 km/s
2035-01-08 13:07:00 Earth 0.0652 AU 25.4 LD 16.9 km/s
2036-08-16 15:26:00 Mercury 0.059 AU 22.9 LD 29.9 km/s
2036-08-16 15:26:00 Merc 0.059 AU 22.9 LD 29.9 km/s
2041-06-10 13:20:00 Mercury 0.0667 AU 26.0 LD 29.8 km/s
2041-06-10 13:20:00 Merc 0.0667 AU 26.0 LD 29.8 km/s
2046-01-08 00:19:00 Earth 0.1047 AU 40.7 LD 16.4 km/s

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

Sources