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Asteroid Near-Earth

2015 XQ55

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(2015 XQ55)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.332 AU
True anomaly
181.11°
Distance from Earth
0.898 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 2015 XQ55 — 1.332 AU from the Sun 2015 XQ55
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2015 XQ55 is 0.898 AU from Earth today (7.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
08h 00m 54s
Declination
+24° 19′ 38″
Constellation
Cancer
Distance from Earth
0.89 AU
Elongation from the Sun
89.53° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
0.849 AU
Eccentricity
0.5699
Inclination
9.57°
Orbital period
285.5 days
Perihelion
0.365 AU
Aphelion
1.332 AU
Longitude of ascending node
53.97°
Argument of periapsis
193.81°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 29.7 LD
0.0764 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.787

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
173
Data arc
9.98 years
First observed
4 December 2015
Last observed
25 November 2025
Residual RMS
0.53 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 December 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
21.78

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 279 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2015 XQ55 at 2027-01-09 09:32 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-01-09 09:32 UTC close approach of 2015 XQ55. Catalogue miss distance 57.7 LD · 2.22 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-01-06 to 2027-01-12, 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. Sun 7 Jan 12 Jan 57.7 LD · 2.22 × 10⁷ km 2027-01-09 09:32 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-01-09 09:32 UTC close approach of 2015 XQ55. Catalogue miss distance 57.7 LD · 2.22 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-01-06 to 2027-01-12, 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.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2027-01-09 09:32:00 Earth 0.1483 AU 57.7 LD 18.8 km/s
2027-12-29 21:31:00 Merc 0.0711 AU 27.7 LD 35.2 km/s
2027-12-29 21:31:00 Mercury 0.0711 AU 27.7 LD 35.2 km/s
2031-02-13 18:47:00 Mercury 0.0305 AU 11.9 LD 30.4 km/s
2031-02-13 18:47:00 Merc 0.0305 AU 11.9 LD 30.4 km/s
2032-10-22 22:19:00 Earth 0.132 AU 51.4 LD 20.6 km/s
2033-07-12 17:22:00 Venus 0.0593 AU 23.1 LD 22.4 km/s
2034-01-07 16:39:00 Earth 0.1884 AU 73.3 LD 13.8 km/s
2034-03-31 07:11:00 Merc 0.0211 AU 8.2 LD 26.2 km/s
2034-03-31 07:11:00 Mercury 0.0211 AU 8.2 LD 26.2 km/s

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

Sources