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Asteroid Near-Earth Potentially hazardous

2006 VG13

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(2006 VG13)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.064 AU
True anomaly
184.45°
Distance from Earth
0.242 AU
As of
17 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 2006 VG13 — 1.064 AU from the Sun 2006 VG13
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2006 VG13 is 0.242 AU from Earth today (2.0 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
06h 52m 40s
Declination
-00° 23′ 48″
Constellation
Monoceros
Distance from Earth
0.24 AU
Elongation from the Sun
100.04° — well clear of the Sun

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
0.818 AU
Eccentricity
0.3034
Inclination
5.86°
Orbital period
270 days
Perihelion
0.57 AU
Aphelion
1.066 AU
Longitude of ascending node
96.44°
Argument of periapsis
115.27°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 17.8 LD
0.0457 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.116

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
95
Data arc
17.01 years
First observed
13 November 2006
Last observed
17 November 2023
Residual RMS
0.63 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
28 July 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
21.46

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object Potentially Hazardous Asteroid

Close approaches 109 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2006 VG13 at 2026-12-04 13:22 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-12-04 13:22 UTC close approach of 2006 VG13. Catalogue miss distance 32.0 LD · 1.23 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-12-01 to 2026-12-07, 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 32.0 LD · 1.23 × 10⁷ km 2026-12-04 13:22 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-12-04 13:22 UTC close approach of 2006 VG13. Catalogue miss distance 32.0 LD · 1.23 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-12-01 to 2026-12-07, 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
2026-12-04 13:22:00 Earth 0.0821 AU 32.0 LD 10 km/s
2027-03-25 02:58:00 Venus 0.0993 AU 38.7 LD 6.9 km/s
2030-12-07 03:06:00 Venus 0.0861 AU 33.5 LD 6.9 km/s
2034-08-17 16:46:00 Venus 0.0812 AU 31.6 LD 7 km/s
2037-09-19 09:11:00 Earth 0.1258 AU 49.0 LD 9.8 km/s
2038-04-26 16:24:00 Venus 0.0817 AU 31.8 LD 7 km/s
2040-11-16 22:38:00 Earth 0.0975 AU 38.0 LD 6 km/s
2042-01-03 08:53:00 Venus 0.0834 AU 32.5 LD 6.9 km/s
2043-12-01 19:12:00 Earth 0.1849 AU 72.0 LD 13.4 km/s
2045-09-09 15:42:00 Venus 0.0926 AU 36.0 LD 6.8 km/s

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

Sources