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Asteroid Near-Earth

2014 SS261

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(2014 SS261)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.065 AU
True anomaly
198.05°
Distance from Earth
1.021 AU
As of
22 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 — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth 2014 SS261 — 1.065 AU from the Sun 2014 SS261
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2014 SS261 is 1.021 AU from Earth today (8.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
18h 16m 24s
Declination
-29° 30′ 36″
Constellation
Sagittarius
Distance from Earth
1.02 AU
Elongation from the Sun
63.71° — 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
0.957 AU
Eccentricity
0.1204
Inclination
10.89°
Orbital period
342 days
Perihelion
0.842 AU
Aphelion
1.072 AU
Longitude of ascending node
3.18°
Argument of periapsis
128.52°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 5.9 LD
0.015 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.273

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
51
Data arc
21 days
First observed
24 September 2014
Last observed
15 October 2014
Residual RMS
0.4 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
26.3

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 101 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2014 SS261 at 2027-06-16 01:13 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-06-16 01:13 UTC close approach of 2014 SS261. Catalogue miss distance 191.8 LD · 7.37 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-06-13 to 2027-06-19, 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 south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 191.8 LD · 7.37 × 10⁷ km 2027-06-16 01:13 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-06-16 01:13 UTC close approach of 2014 SS261. Catalogue miss distance 191.8 LD · 7.37 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-06-13 to 2027-06-19, 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 south of the ecliptic. 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
2027-06-16 01:13:00 Earth 0.4929 AU 191.8 LD 17.1 km/s
2028-05-05 22:59:00 Earth 0.1692 AU 65.8 LD 8 km/s
2029-02-17 07:21:00 Earth 0.1816 AU 70.7 LD 6.6 km/s
2029-09-29 17:59:00 Earth 0.0967 AU 37.6 LD 7.8 km/s
2030-09-18 08:29:00 Earth 0.4842 AU 188.4 LD 18.2 km/s
2031-12-12 13:29:00 Venus 0.1328 AU 51.7 LD 6.4 km/s
2042-06-05 05:37:00 Earth 0.3602 AU 140.2 LD 13.1 km/s
2043-04-10 01:36:00 Earth 0.1123 AU 43.7 LD 6.8 km/s
2043-09-14 00:41:00 Earth 0.1296 AU 50.4 LD 5.8 km/s
2044-09-26 16:52:00 Earth 0.2462 AU 95.8 LD 11.5 km/s

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

Sources