Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2016 BW14

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2016 BW14)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.003 AU
True anomaly
138.33°
Distance from Earth
0.616 AU
As of
20 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 2016 BW14 — 1.003 AU from the Sun 2016 BW14
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2016 BW14 is 0.616 AU from Earth today (5.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
08h 58m 15s
Declination
+05° 28′ 56″
Constellation
Hydra
Distance from Earth
0.62 AU
Elongation from the Sun
72.83° — well clear of the Sun

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
0.891 AU
Eccentricity
0.1928
Inclination
7.58°
Orbital period
307.4 days
Perihelion
0.72 AU
Aphelion
1.063 AU
Longitude of ascending node
127.56°
Argument of periapsis
156.58°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 16.2 LD
0.0416 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.642

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
52
Data arc
13 days
First observed
28 January 2016
Last observed
10 February 2016
Residual RMS
0.48 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.8

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 133 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2016 BW14 at 2027-02-13 03:14 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-02-13 03:14 UTC close approach of 2016 BW14. Catalogue miss distance 121.5 LD · 4.67 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-02-10 to 2027-02-16, 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 121.5 LD · 4.67 × 10⁷ km 2027-02-13 03:14 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-02-13 03:14 UTC close approach of 2016 BW14. Catalogue miss distance 121.5 LD · 4.67 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-02-10 to 2027-02-16, 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
2027-02-13 03:14:00 Earth 0.3122 AU 121.5 LD 15.3 km/s
2031-08-18 16:49:00 Venus 0.0695 AU 27.1 LD 8.4 km/s
2031-08-26 03:51:00 Earth 0.2574 AU 100.2 LD 8.2 km/s
2032-02-13 17:56:00 Earth 0.0467 AU 18.2 LD 6.7 km/s
2036-12-04 18:43:00 Earth 0.117 AU 45.5 LD 5.6 km/s
2037-05-11 13:22:00 Earth 0.2698 AU 105.0 LD 6.8 km/s
2038-03-28 00:58:00 Venus 0.1341 AU 52.2 LD 9.5 km/s
2041-11-24 21:33:00 Earth 0.3081 AU 119.9 LD 14.3 km/s
2042-06-30 14:59:00 Earth 0.3019 AU 117.5 LD 9.9 km/s
2043-02-11 03:33:00 Earth 0.3793 AU 147.6 LD 17.4 km/s

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

Sources