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Asteroid Near-Earth

2003 CA4

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(2003 CA4)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.997 AU
True anomaly
138.58°
Distance from Earth
1.044 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 2003 CA4 — 0.997 AU from the Sun 2003 CA4
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2003 CA4 is 1.044 AU from Earth today (8.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
10h 02m 50s
Declination
+06° 18′ 48″
Constellation
Sextans
Distance from Earth
1.04 AU
Elongation from the Sun
58.51° — 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
0.921 AU
Eccentricity
0.1192
Inclination
7.49°
Orbital period
322.6 days
Perihelion
0.811 AU
Aphelion
1.03 AU
Longitude of ascending node
139.66°
Argument of periapsis
172.93°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 16.1 LD
0.0414 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.481

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
179
Data arc
15.02 years
First observed
4 February 2003
Last observed
10 February 2018
Residual RMS
0.52 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
14 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
23.6

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 120 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2003 CA4 at 2033-01-01 23:17 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2033-01-01 23:17 UTC close approach of 2003 CA4. Catalogue miss distance 42.8 LD · 1.65 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2032-12-29 to 2033-01-04, 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 a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 42.8 LD · 1.65 × 10⁷ km 2033-01-01 23:17 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2033-01-01 23:17 UTC close approach of 2003 CA4. Catalogue miss distance 42.8 LD · 1.65 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2032-12-29 to 2033-01-04, 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 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
2029-03-01 01:43:00 Venus 0.091 AU 35.4 LD 4 km/s
2033-01-01 23:17:00 Earth 0.1101 AU 42.8 LD 5.5 km/s
2033-06-15 13:47:00 Earth 0.2009 AU 78.2 LD 5.4 km/s
2034-03-03 19:59:00 Earth 0.493 AU 191.9 LD 18.5 km/s
2040-09-15 01:51:00 Earth 0.1861 AU 72.4 LD 6 km/s
2041-03-03 13:41:00 Earth 0.0844 AU 32.9 LD 5.8 km/s
2043-05-05 02:25:00 Venus 0.1061 AU 41.3 LD 4 km/s
2047-12-23 05:15:00 Earth 0.2 AU 77.8 LD 8.6 km/s
2048-07-12 00:18:00 Earth 0.2071 AU 80.6 LD 6.6 km/s
2049-03-07 00:33:00 Earth 0.3827 AU 148.9 LD 15 km/s

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

Sources