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Asteroid Near-Earth

2016 RJ20

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(2016 RJ20)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.36 AU
True anomaly
194.5°
Distance from Earth
0.484 AU
As of
21 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 2016 RJ20 — 1.36 AU from the Sun 2016 RJ20
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2016 RJ20 is 0.484 AU from Earth today (4.0 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
05h 06m 15s
Declination
+08° 54′ 27″
Constellation
Orion
Distance from Earth
0.48 AU
Elongation from the Sun
131.16° — 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
0.925 AU
Eccentricity
0.5224
Inclination
5.15°
Orbital period
324.8 days
Perihelion
0.442 AU
Aphelion
1.408 AU
Longitude of ascending node
153.25°
Argument of periapsis
55.64°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 3.3 LD
0.0084 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.343

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
61
Data arc
8 years
First observed
8 September 2016
Last observed
9 September 2024
Residual RMS
0.62 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
13 September 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
23.65

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 287 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2016 RJ20 at 2026-12-10 13:08 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-12-10 13:08 UTC close approach of 2016 RJ20. Catalogue miss distance 86.4 LD · 3.32 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-12-07 to 2026-12-13, 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 86.4 LD · 3.32 × 10⁷ km 2026-12-10 13:08 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-12-10 13:08 UTC close approach of 2016 RJ20. Catalogue miss distance 86.4 LD · 3.32 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-12-07 to 2026-12-13, 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
2026-12-10 13:08:00 Earth 0.222 AU 86.4 LD 11.1 km/s
2027-11-27 11:32:00 Earth 0.4546 AU 176.9 LD 30.3 km/s
2029-10-25 20:06:00 Merc 0.0332 AU 12.9 LD 19.2 km/s
2029-10-25 20:06:00 Mercury 0.0332 AU 12.9 LD 19.2 km/s
2030-02-25 02:52:00 Mars 0.0847 AU 33.0 LD 9.5 km/s
2032-07-07 15:11:00 Merc 0.0835 AU 32.5 LD 20.6 km/s
2032-07-07 15:11:00 Mercury 0.0835 AU 32.5 LD 20.6 km/s
2032-08-31 05:02:00 Earth 0.0304 AU 11.8 LD 15.3 km/s
2033-10-15 03:55:00 Earth 0.4149 AU 161.5 LD 12.5 km/s
2034-12-09 22:11:00 Earth 0.2264 AU 88.1 LD 11.1 km/s

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

Sources