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Asteroid Near-Earth

2005 YU128

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(2005 YU128)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.62 AU
True anomaly
68.98°
Distance from Earth
0.508 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 2005 YU128 — 0.62 AU from the Sun 2005 YU128
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2005 YU128 is 0.508 AU from Earth today (4.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
15h 13m 40s
Declination
-27° 42′ 44″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
0.5 AU
Elongation from the Sun
31.06° — 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
0.772 AU
Eccentricity
0.3219
Inclination
7.71°
Orbital period
247.5 days
Perihelion
0.523 AU
Aphelion
1.02 AU
Longitude of ascending node
100.42°
Argument of periapsis
190.14°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 8.6 LD
0.0221 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.466

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 2).

Observations used
39
Data arc
19.06 years
First observed
30 December 2005
Last observed
21 January 2025
Residual RMS
0.35 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
28 January 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.26

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 142 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2005 YU128 at 2026-12-17 17:14 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-12-17 17:14 UTC close approach of 2005 YU128. Catalogue miss distance 28.7 LD · 1.1 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-12-14 to 2026-12-20, 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 28.7 LD · 1.1 × 10⁷ km 2026-12-17 17:14 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-12-17 17:14 UTC close approach of 2005 YU128. Catalogue miss distance 28.7 LD · 1.1 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-12-14 to 2026-12-20, 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
2026-12-17 17:14:00 Earth 0.0738 AU 28.7 LD 9.5 km/s
2039-09-21 01:47:00 Venus 0.0776 AU 30.2 LD 9.3 km/s
2042-02-04 07:15:00 Earth 0.1991 AU 77.5 LD 13 km/s
2044-01-25 20:59:00 Earth 0.0635 AU 24.7 LD 7.5 km/s
2044-05-05 20:29:00 Mercury 0.0839 AU 32.6 LD 8.7 km/s
2044-05-05 20:29:00 Merc 0.0839 AU 32.6 LD 8.7 km/s
2044-12-02 01:16:00 Venus 0.0987 AU 38.4 LD 15.6 km/s
2045-12-21 13:30:00 Earth 0.0302 AU 11.7 LD 8 km/s
2046-07-01 23:49:00 Venus 0.077 AU 30.0 LD 13.9 km/s
2051-09-13 22:29:00 Venus 0.0768 AU 29.9 LD 9.3 km/s

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

Sources