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Asteroid Near-Earth Potentially hazardous

2006 QQ23

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(2006 QQ23)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.032 AU
True anomaly
180.33°
Distance from Earth
1.213 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 2006 QQ23 — 1.032 AU from the Sun 2006 QQ23
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2006 QQ23 is 1.213 AU from Earth today (10.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
17h 09m 16s
Declination
-25° 17′ 44″
Constellation
Ophiuchus
Distance from Earth
1.21 AU
Elongation from the Sun
54.58° — 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
0.804 AU
Eccentricity
0.2842
Inclination
3.45°
Orbital period
263.2 days
Perihelion
0.575 AU
Aphelion
1.032 AU
Longitude of ascending node
4.07°
Argument of periapsis
125.54°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 12.9 LD
0.0333 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.227

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
113
Data arc
17.95 years
First observed
21 August 2006
Last observed
1 August 2024
Residual RMS
0.45 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
2 August 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
19.71

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object Potentially Hazardous Asteroid

Close approaches 252 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2006 QQ23 at 2027-03-19 23:07 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-03-19 23:07 UTC close approach of 2006 QQ23. Catalogue miss distance 144.6 LD · 5.56 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-03-16 to 2027-03-22, 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 144.6 LD · 5.56 × 10⁷ km 2027-03-19 23:07 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-03-19 23:07 UTC close approach of 2006 QQ23. Catalogue miss distance 144.6 LD · 5.56 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-03-16 to 2027-03-22, 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
2027-03-19 23:07:00 Earth 0.3715 AU 144.6 LD 11.4 km/s
2027-08-24 11:58:00 Earth 0.365 AU 142.1 LD 17 km/s
2029-07-15 10:51:00 Earth 0.4272 AU 166.2 LD 18.8 km/s
2029-12-12 11:05:00 Venus 0.0927 AU 36.1 LD 6.7 km/s
2029-12-26 00:12:00 Earth 0.3857 AU 150.1 LD 12.4 km/s
2032-05-01 07:21:00 Earth 0.2799 AU 108.9 LD 5.4 km/s
2032-08-31 19:42:00 Earth 0.1105 AU 43.0 LD 8.8 km/s
2034-05-02 04:39:00 Venus 0.139 AU 54.1 LD 9.3 km/s
2035-01-26 06:01:00 Earth 0.411 AU 160.0 LD 14.3 km/s
2037-07-14 22:01:00 Earth 0.0588 AU 22.9 LD 5.3 km/s

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

Sources