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Centaur

2011 SQ249

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(2011 SQ249)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
3.943 AU
True anomaly
316.8°
Distance from Earth
4.441 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 SQ249 — 3.943 AU from the Sun 2011 SQ249
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2011 SQ249 is 4.441 AU from Earth today (36.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
16h 37m 45s
Declination
-31° 44′ 26″
Constellation
Scorpius
Distance from Earth
4.45 AU
Elongation from the Sun
53.79° — 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.

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
6.605 AU
Eccentricity
0.4535
Inclination
16.68°
Orbital period
16.98 years
Perihelion
3.61 AU
Aphelion
9.601 AU
Longitude of ascending node
44.78°
Argument of periapsis
263.8°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · CEN
Centaur
Earth MOID · 1,032.2 LD
2.6523 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.712

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
67
Data arc
29.69 years
First observed
21 October 1995
Last observed
29 June 2025
Residual RMS
0.51 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
2 August 2025

Physical properties

Mean radius
3.78 km

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.054
Absolute magnitude (H)
14.06

Discovery & classification

Also known as 1995 UW31 · 2010 JV9

Centaur

Close approaches 6 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2044-02-11 21:46:00 Juptr 1.8353 AU 714.2 LD 5.5 km/s
2076-10-15 15:43:00 Juptr 0.9431 AU 367.0 LD 8.7 km/s
2124-11-24 12:09:00 Juptr 0.7701 AU 299.7 LD 5.4 km/s

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

Sources