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Asteroid Near-Earth

2011 EP51

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(2011 EP51)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.958 AU
True anomaly
134.79°
Distance from Earth
1.233 AU
As of
19 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 — 0.996 AU from the Sun Earth 2011 EP51 — 0.958 AU from the Sun 2011 EP51
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2011 EP51 is 1.233 AU from Earth today (10.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
10h 31m 29s
Declination
+06° 55′ 59″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
1.23 AU
Elongation from the Sun
49.56° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
0.829 AU
Eccentricity
0.3075
Inclination
3.43°
Orbital period
275.8 days
Perihelion
0.574 AU
Aphelion
1.084 AU
Longitude of ascending node
159.4°
Argument of periapsis
170.34°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 10.3 LD
0.0263 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.034

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
318
Data arc
8.87 years
First observed
12 March 2011
Last observed
24 January 2020
Residual RMS
0.39 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
20 December 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.2

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 255 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2011 EP51 at 2029-01-15 11:39 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-01-15 11:39 UTC close approach of 2011 EP51. Catalogue miss distance 121.3 LD · 4.66 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-01-12 to 2029-01-18, 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 121.3 LD · 4.66 × 10⁷ km 2029-01-15 11:39 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-01-15 11:39 UTC close approach of 2011 EP51. Catalogue miss distance 121.3 LD · 4.66 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-01-12 to 2029-01-18, 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
2027-05-11 07:14:00 Venus 0.1498 AU 58.3 LD 9.9 km/s
2029-01-15 11:39:00 Earth 0.3118 AU 121.3 LD 17.8 km/s
2029-07-24 03:02:00 Earth 0.4246 AU 165.2 LD 14.4 km/s
2030-03-31 05:53:00 Venus 0.0593 AU 23.1 LD 13.2 km/s
2032-01-20 20:00:00 Earth 0.4254 AU 165.6 LD 21.6 km/s
2032-08-05 19:00:00 Earth 0.4348 AU 169.2 LD 15.3 km/s
2034-03-23 21:54:00 Venus 0.0302 AU 11.8 LD 10.1 km/s
2035-08-18 11:07:00 Earth 0.4379 AU 170.4 LD 15.6 km/s
2037-01-28 05:55:00 Venus 0.1232 AU 47.9 LD 7.5 km/s
2038-08-29 15:55:00 Earth 0.4352 AU 169.4 LD 15.5 km/s

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

Sources