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Asteroid Near-Earth

2006 SE6

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(2006 SE6)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.97 AU
True anomaly
141.18°
Distance from Earth
1.152 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 SE6 — 0.97 AU from the Sun 2006 SE6
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2006 SE6 is 1.152 AU from Earth today (9.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
17h 03m 12s
Declination
-25° 08′ 14″
Constellation
Ophiuchus
Distance from Earth
1.16 AU
Elongation from the Sun
53.16° — 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
0.805 AU
Eccentricity
0.3456
Inclination
4.82°
Orbital period
263.8 days
Perihelion
0.527 AU
Aphelion
1.083 AU
Longitude of ascending node
347.21°
Argument of periapsis
183.19°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 14.1 LD
0.0363 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.199

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
164
Data arc
13.1 years
First observed
28 August 2006
Last observed
4 October 2019
Residual RMS
0.57 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
2 May 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
22.97

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 250 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2006 SE6 at 2027-05-16 10:19 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-05-16 10:19 UTC close approach of 2006 SE6. Catalogue miss distance 154.3 LD · 5.93 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-05-13 to 2027-05-19, 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 154.3 LD · 5.93 × 10⁷ km 2027-05-16 10:19 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-05-16 10:19 UTC close approach of 2006 SE6. Catalogue miss distance 154.3 LD · 5.93 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-05-13 to 2027-05-19, 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
2027-05-16 10:19:00 Earth 0.3966 AU 154.3 LD 11.3 km/s
2027-10-18 17:16:00 Earth 0.1246 AU 48.5 LD 11.4 km/s
2029-05-09 14:14:00 Venus 0.0674 AU 26.2 LD 13.9 km/s
2030-03-03 07:11:00 Earth 0.4635 AU 180.4 LD 17.7 km/s
2030-04-16 22:11:00 Venus 0.0551 AU 21.4 LD 12.9 km/s
2032-09-05 21:23:00 Earth 0.073 AU 28.4 LD 6.8 km/s
2033-09-23 06:44:00 Venus 0.1432 AU 55.7 LD 9.8 km/s
2035-04-05 17:45:00 Earth 0.4606 AU 179.3 LD 16.9 km/s
2035-10-07 14:18:00 Earth 0.4553 AU 177.2 LD 22.5 km/s
2037-08-13 13:04:00 Earth 0.1857 AU 72.3 LD 13.7 km/s

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

Sources