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Centaur

2011 SQ55

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(2011 SQ55)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.143 AU
True anomaly
7.17°
Distance from Earth
1.254 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 2011 SQ55 — 2.143 AU from the Sun 2011 SQ55
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2011 SQ55 is 1.254 AU from Earth today (10.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
23h 31m 20s
Declination
-19° 54′ 23″
Constellation
Aquarius
Distance from Earth
1.26 AU
Elongation from the Sun
143.38° — well clear of the Sun

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
6.111 AU
Eccentricity
0.6504
Inclination
22.42°
Orbital period
15.11 years
Perihelion
2.136 AU
Aphelion
10.085 AU
Longitude of ascending node
23.05°
Argument of periapsis
328.43°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · CEN
Centaur
Earth MOID · 452.2 LD
1.162 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.373

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
17
Data arc
50 days
First observed
23 September 2011
Last observed
12 November 2011
Residual RMS
0.55 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
1 July 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
18

Discovery & classification

Centaur

Close approaches 1 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2128-06-30 00:40:00 Satrn 1.4642 AU 569.8 LD 7.3 km/s

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

Sources