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Asteroid Near-Earth

2006 WB

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(2006 WB)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.706 AU
True anomaly
347.59°
Distance from Earth
1.699 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 2006 WB — 0.706 AU from the Sun 2006 WB
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2006 WB is 1.699 AU from Earth today (14.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 51m 17s
Declination
-10° 17′ 47″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.7 AU
Elongation from the Sun
2.71° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
0.854 AU
Eccentricity
0.1765
Inclination
4.9°
Orbital period
288.3 days
Perihelion
0.703 AU
Aphelion
1.005 AU
Longitude of ascending node
64.7°
Argument of periapsis
159.44°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 1.3 LD
0.0033 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.887

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
330
Data arc
18.07 years
First observed
16 November 2006
Last observed
11 December 2024
Residual RMS
0.34 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
31 July 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
23.18

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 66 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2006 WB at 2039-11-04 01:45 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2039-11-04 01:45 UTC close approach of 2006 WB. Catalogue miss distance 16.4 LD · 6.29 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2039-11-01 to 2039-11-07, 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 16.4 LD · 6.29 × 10⁶ km 2039-11-04 01:45 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2039-11-04 01:45 UTC close approach of 2006 WB. Catalogue miss distance 16.4 LD · 6.29 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2039-11-01 to 2039-11-07, 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
2028-06-21 17:45:00 Venus 0.1269 AU 49.4 LD 10.4 km/s
2033-12-30 06:26:00 Venus 0.0588 AU 22.9 LD 7 km/s
2039-07-13 21:20:00 Venus 0.053 AU 20.6 LD 6.7 km/s
2039-11-04 01:45:00 Earth 0.0421 AU 16.4 LD 4.1 km/s
2043-12-11 02:16:00 Earth 0.1148 AU 44.7 LD 7.5 km/s
2058-10-12 05:25:00 Earth 0.1768 AU 68.8 LD 9 km/s
2062-11-13 04:30:00 Earth 0.0308 AU 12.0 LD 4 km/s
2063-12-25 01:14:00 Venus 0.0424 AU 16.5 LD 6.1 km/s
2064-03-11 19:03:00 Venus 0.1399 AU 54.5 LD 2.3 km/s
2066-12-09 22:26:00 Earth 0.1515 AU 59.0 LD 8.6 km/s

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

Sources