Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2008 TZ

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2008 TZ)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.92 AU
True anomaly
108.7°
Distance from Earth
1.818 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 TZ — 0.92 AU from the Sun 2008 TZ
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2008 TZ is 1.818 AU from Earth today (15.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 59m 19s
Declination
-17° 39′ 41″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
1.82 AU
Elongation from the Sun
17.62° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
0.953 AU
Eccentricity
0.3967
Inclination
1.5°
Orbital period
339.6 days
Perihelion
0.575 AU
Aphelion
1.331 AU
Longitude of ascending node
9.63°
Argument of periapsis
127.61°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 1.4 LD
0.0037 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.247

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
84
Data arc
10 days
First observed
30 September 2008
Last observed
10 October 2008
Residual RMS
0.55 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.4

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 103 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2008 TZ at 2031-06-22 12:41 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2031-06-22 12:41 UTC close approach of 2008 TZ. Catalogue miss distance 127.9 LD · 4.92 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2031-06-19 to 2031-06-25, 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 127.9 LD · 4.92 × 10⁷ km 2031-06-22 12:41 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2031-06-22 12:41 UTC close approach of 2008 TZ. Catalogue miss distance 127.9 LD · 4.92 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2031-06-19 to 2031-06-25, 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
2027-06-28 08:09:00 Venus 0.028 AU 10.9 LD 12 km/s
2028-01-07 00:04:00 Mars 0.0668 AU 26.0 LD 6.6 km/s
2029-05-20 04:42:00 Venus 0.108 AU 42.0 LD 9.6 km/s
2029-12-10 10:40:00 Mars 0.0656 AU 25.5 LD 6.5 km/s
2031-04-15 04:11:00 Venus 0.143 AU 55.7 LD 11.2 km/s
2031-06-22 12:41:00 Earth 0.3287 AU 127.9 LD 21.4 km/s
2032-06-09 11:05:00 Earth 0.0904 AU 35.2 LD 9 km/s
2033-03-07 23:58:00 Venus 0.1368 AU 53.2 LD 10.7 km/s
2033-03-17 07:14:00 Earth 0.3789 AU 147.5 LD 13.6 km/s
2033-07-31 01:32:00 Earth 0.3115 AU 121.2 LD 9.2 km/s

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

Sources