2011 AC3 is an asteroid in the Aten orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.5 AU to 1.48 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 358.1 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 0.61 AU
- True anomaly
- 295.88°
- Distance from Earth
- 1.423 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
- 13h 09m 17s
- Declination
- -16° 50′ 15″
- Constellation
- Virgo
- Distance from Earth
- 1.42 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 20.52° — 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.
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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
- 0.987 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.4977
- Inclination
- 23.28°
- Orbital period
- 358.1 days
- Perihelion
- 0.496 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.478 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 284.74°
- Argument of periapsis
- 307.83°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · ATE
- Aten
- Earth MOID · 18.3 LD
- 0.047 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 5.967
Orbit quality
Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).
- Observations used
- 107
- Data arc
- 364 days
- First observed
- 4 January 2011
- Last observed
- 3 January 2012
- Residual RMS
- 0.44 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 15 April 2021
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 22.4
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 166 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2042-09-17 08:18 UTC close approach of 2011 AC3. Catalogue miss distance 167.9 LD · 6.45 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2042-09-14 to 2042-09-20, 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 north 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2030-11-04 11:20:00 | Mercury | 0.0649 AU | 25.2 LD | 26 km/s |
| 2030-11-04 11:20:00 | Merc | 0.0649 AU | 25.2 LD | 26 km/s |
| 2042-08-21 18:58:00 | Venus | 0.145 AU | 56.4 LD | 23.4 km/s |
| 2042-09-17 08:18:00 | Earth | 0.4313 AU | 167.9 LD | 25.6 km/s |
| 2043-09-09 19:36:00 | Earth | 0.3726 AU | 145.0 LD | 22.7 km/s |
| 2044-07-26 10:27:00 | Mercury | 0.0689 AU | 26.8 LD | 24.5 km/s |
| 2044-07-26 10:27:00 | Merc | 0.0689 AU | 26.8 LD | 24.5 km/s |
| 2044-08-30 21:13:00 | Earth | 0.3395 AU | 132.1 LD | 20.3 km/s |
| 2045-08-19 22:28:00 | Earth | 0.3364 AU | 130.9 LD | 18.9 km/s |
| 2046-08-07 07:01:00 | Earth | 0.3573 AU | 139.1 LD | 18.8 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