2009 FL is an asteroid in the Aten orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.52 AU to 1.44 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 354.4 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 0.541 AU
- True anomaly
- 333.88°
- Distance from Earth
- 1.36 AU
- As of
- 2 November 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.
In the sky
- Right ascension
- 15h 52m 20s
- Declination
- -10° 01′ 36″
- Constellation
- Libra
- Distance from Earth
- 1.35 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 19.89° — 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.
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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
- 0.98 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.4661
- Inclination
- 26.11°
- Orbital period
- 354.4 days
- Perihelion
- 0.523 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.437 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 174.64°
- Argument of periapsis
- 124.56°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2454908.5
- Orbit class · ATE
- Aten
- Earth MOID · 11.7 LD
- 0.0302 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 5.999
Orbit quality
Orbit very uncertain — the object may be effectively lost (uncertainty code 8).
- Observations used
- 30
- Data arc
- 3 days
- First observed
- 17 March 2009
- Last observed
- 20 March 2009
- Residual RMS
- 0.58 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 15 April 2021
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 24.4
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 10 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2168-03-03 18:42 UTC close approach of 2009 FL. Catalogue miss distance 177.8 LD · 6.84 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2168-02-29 to 2168-03-06, 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.
| When (UTC) | Body | Distance | Lunar distances | Relative speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2168-03-03 18:42:00 | Earth | 0.457 AU | 177.8 LD | 14.5 km/s |
| 2169-03-15 23:31:00 | Earth | 0.3269 AU | 127.2 LD | 14.5 km/s |
| 2170-03-21 16:40:00 | Earth | 0.1679 AU | 65.4 LD | 16 km/s |
Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.
Sources
- visual properties: JPL SBDB (lookup)
- orbital elements: JPL SBDB