Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2003 FU3

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2003 FU3)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.861 AU
True anomaly
113.55°
Distance from Earth
1.296 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 2003 FU3 — 0.861 AU from the Sun 2003 FU3
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2003 FU3 is 1.296 AU from Earth today (10.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 22m 43s
Declination
+13° 24′ 01″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
1.3 AU
Elongation from the Sun
41.74° — 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
0.858 AU
Eccentricity
0.394
Inclination
13.04°
Orbital period
290.5 days
Perihelion
0.52 AU
Aphelion
1.197 AU
Longitude of ascending node
21.53°
Argument of periapsis
339.39°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 32.1 LD
0.0825 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.789

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
196
Data arc
23.07 years
First observed
26 March 2003
Last observed
19 April 2026
Residual RMS
0.48 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
31 August 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
21.09

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 48 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2003 FU3 at 2034-04-08 04:14 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2034-04-08 04:14 UTC close approach of 2003 FU3. Catalogue miss distance 72.9 LD · 2.8 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2034-04-05 to 2034-04-11, 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. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 72.9 LD · 2.8 × 10⁷ km 2034-04-08 04:14 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2034-04-08 04:14 UTC close approach of 2003 FU3. Catalogue miss distance 72.9 LD · 2.8 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2034-04-05 to 2034-04-11, 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. 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
2034-04-08 04:14:00 Earth 0.1872 AU 72.9 LD 10.2 km/s
2037-09-07 13:17:00 Venus 0.1449 AU 56.4 LD 13.1 km/s
2038-04-22 17:47:00 Earth 0.1254 AU 48.8 LD 10.4 km/s
2041-01-21 04:35:00 Venus 0.1415 AU 55.1 LD 15.1 km/s
2042-04-30 11:08:00 Earth 0.0835 AU 32.5 LD 12.3 km/s
2046-04-30 10:53:00 Earth 0.159 AU 61.9 LD 15.8 km/s
2069-04-10 00:13:00 Earth 0.1806 AU 70.3 LD 10.2 km/s
2073-04-24 06:09:00 Earth 0.1161 AU 45.2 LD 10.5 km/s
2077-04-30 15:54:00 Earth 0.0875 AU 34.0 LD 12.7 km/s
2081-04-30 00:36:00 Earth 0.1742 AU 67.8 LD 16.3 km/s

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

Sources