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Asteroid Near-Earth

2008 PR9

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(2008 PR9)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.36 AU
True anomaly
197.51°
Distance from Earth
1.786 AU
As of
22 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 — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth 2008 PR9 — 1.36 AU from the Sun 2008 PR9
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2008 PR9 is 1.786 AU from Earth today (14.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
17h 08m 52s
Declination
-25° 26′ 00″
Constellation
Ophiuchus
Distance from Earth
1.79 AU
Elongation from the Sun
48.92° — 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
0.943 AU
Eccentricity
0.5118
Inclination
3.3°
Orbital period
334.7 days
Perihelion
0.461 AU
Aphelion
1.426 AU
Longitude of ascending node
18.74°
Argument of periapsis
75.62°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 8.7 LD
0.0224 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.246

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
40
Data arc
11.03 years
First observed
8 August 2008
Last observed
21 August 2019
Residual RMS
0.5 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
1 March 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
22.46

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 249 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2008 PR9 at 2027-05-01 05:37 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-05-01 05:37 UTC close approach of 2008 PR9. Catalogue miss distance 22.8 LD · 8.78 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-04-28 to 2027-05-04, 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 4 May 22.8 LD · 8.78 × 10⁶ km 2027-05-01 05:37 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-05-01 05:37 UTC close approach of 2008 PR9. Catalogue miss distance 22.8 LD · 8.78 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-04-28 to 2027-05-04, 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
2027-05-01 05:37:00 Earth 0.0587 AU 22.8 LD 13.5 km/s
2027-12-22 06:39:00 Venus 0.1409 AU 54.8 LD 24.8 km/s
2028-02-12 06:50:00 Earth 0.4622 AU 179.9 LD 17.4 km/s
2028-06-07 13:27:00 Earth 0.3844 AU 149.6 LD 11.5 km/s
2029-07-17 05:01:00 Earth 0.3746 AU 145.8 LD 11.4 km/s
2029-11-02 15:26:00 Earth 0.4493 AU 174.8 LD 16.2 km/s
2030-08-20 21:38:00 Earth 0.048 AU 18.7 LD 14.6 km/s
2031-08-01 13:25:00 Earth 0.4766 AU 185.5 LD 29.7 km/s
2037-05-16 07:15:00 Earth 0.3752 AU 146.0 LD 26.6 km/s
2038-05-01 07:05:00 Earth 0.1222 AU 47.6 LD 11.8 km/s

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

Sources