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Centaur

2009 DP2

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(2009 DP2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
4.406 AU
True anomaly
56.23°
Distance from Earth
5.377 AU
As of
11 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.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth 2009 DP2 — 4.406 AU from the Sun 2009 DP2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2009 DP2 is 5.377 AU from Earth today (44.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 21m 48s
Declination
-04° 02′ 00″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
5.38 AU
Elongation from the Sun
12.46° — 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
6.647 AU
Eccentricity
0.4249
Inclination
26.77°
Orbital period
17.14 years
Perihelion
3.823 AU
Aphelion
9.471 AU
Longitude of ascending node
0.09°
Argument of periapsis
127.87°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · CEN
Centaur
Earth MOID · 1,133.8 LD
2.9135 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.61

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 2).

Observations used
77
Data arc
17.06 years
First observed
17 February 2009
Last observed
12 March 2026
Residual RMS
0.7 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 June 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
15.4

Discovery & classification

Centaur

Close approaches 7 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2054-05-27 20:29:00 Satrn 1.8113 AU 704.9 LD 4.8 km/s
2111-11-23 17:34:00 Juptr 0.9754 AU 379.6 LD 8.5 km/s
2146-02-01 10:17:00 Juptr 1.7205 AU 669.6 LD 7.8 km/s
2177-07-02 17:11:00 Juptr 1.4481 AU 563.6 LD 7.9 km/s

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

Sources