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Asteroid Near-Earth

2016 NF23

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(2016 NF23)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.428 AU
True anomaly
22.53°
Distance from Earth
1.325 AU
As of
16 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 — 0.997 AU from the Sun Earth 2016 NF23 — 0.428 AU from the Sun 2016 NF23
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2016 NF23 is 1.325 AU from Earth today (11.0 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 37m 18s
Declination
-03° 49′ 56″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.33 AU
Elongation from the Sun
13.55° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
0.755 AU
Eccentricity
0.4466
Inclination
4.42°
Orbital period
239.6 days
Perihelion
0.418 AU
Aphelion
1.092 AU
Longitude of ascending node
150.19°
Argument of periapsis
343.33°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 4.8 LD
0.0123 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.571

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
139
Data arc
6.11 years
First observed
15 July 2014
Last observed
23 August 2020
Residual RMS
0.51 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
1 March 2023

Physical properties

Rotation period
17.1 hours

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
22.92

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 265 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2016 NF23 at 2031-07-17 18:55 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2031-07-17 18:55 UTC close approach of 2016 NF23. Catalogue miss distance 146.7 LD · 5.64 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2031-07-14 to 2031-07-20, 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 146.7 LD · 5.64 × 10⁷ km 2031-07-17 18:55 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2031-07-17 18:55 UTC close approach of 2016 NF23. Catalogue miss distance 146.7 LD · 5.64 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2031-07-14 to 2031-07-20, 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
2028-02-11 13:16:00 Merc 0.0765 AU 29.8 LD 8.2 km/s
2028-02-11 13:16:00 Mercury 0.0765 AU 29.8 LD 8.2 km/s
2028-08-21 00:11:00 Venus 0.0516 AU 20.1 LD 18.6 km/s
2031-06-23 18:42:00 Venus 0.0732 AU 28.5 LD 13.4 km/s
2031-07-17 18:55:00 Earth 0.377 AU 146.7 LD 22 km/s
2033-07-11 02:06:00 Earth 0.1996 AU 77.7 LD 16 km/s
2033-12-08 20:52:00 Earth 0.4937 AU 192.1 LD 16.9 km/s
2035-07-11 14:36:00 Earth 0.0561 AU 21.8 LD 10.4 km/s
2035-11-14 17:59:00 Earth 0.4223 AU 164.3 LD 10 km/s
2037-08-04 12:45:00 Earth 0.0812 AU 31.6 LD 8.4 km/s

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

Sources