2016 SL3 is an asteroid in the Aten orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.8 AU to 1.18 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 358.8 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 1.166 AU
- True anomaly
- 195.9°
- Distance from Earth
- 0.635 AU
- As of
- 2 November 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.
In the sky
- Right ascension
- 08h 41m 36s
- Declination
- +02° 18′ 25″
- Constellation
- Hydra
- Distance from Earth
- 0.63 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 88.87° — 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.
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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
- 0.988 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.1904
- Inclination
- 9.73°
- Orbital period
- 358.8 days
- Perihelion
- 0.8 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.176 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 194.83°
- Argument of periapsis
- 42.03°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · ATE
- Aten
- Earth MOID · 27.9 LD
- 0.0717 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 6.109
Orbit quality
Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).
- Observations used
- 41
- Data arc
- 385 days
- First observed
- 25 September 2016
- Last observed
- 15 October 2017
- Residual RMS
- 0.39 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 15 April 2021
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 25
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 148 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-01-31 02:20 UTC close approach of 2016 SL3. Catalogue miss distance 128.6 LD · 4.94 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-01-28 to 2027-02-03, 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.
| When (UTC) | Body | Distance | Lunar distances | Relative speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2027-01-31 02:20:00 | Earth | 0.3303 AU | 128.6 LD | 15.8 km/s |
| 2028-01-25 14:32:00 | Earth | 0.4323 AU | 168.2 LD | 19 km/s |
| 2068-09-25 14:04:00 | Earth | 0.4298 AU | 167.3 LD | 19.2 km/s |
| 2069-09-22 04:41:00 | Earth | 0.3272 AU | 127.4 LD | 16.1 km/s |
| 2070-09-19 08:41:00 | Earth | 0.2262 AU | 88.0 LD | 13 km/s |
| 2071-06-02 09:30:00 | Venus | 0.111 AU | 43.2 LD | 7.2 km/s |
| 2071-09-17 15:34:00 | Earth | 0.1322 AU | 51.4 LD | 10.2 km/s |
| 2072-09-18 00:43:00 | Earth | 0.073 AU | 28.4 LD | 7.8 km/s |
| 2073-09-26 18:40:00 | Earth | 0.1013 AU | 39.4 LD | 6.5 km/s |
| 2074-07-17 22:27:00 | Earth | 0.2302 AU | 89.6 LD | 4.6 km/s |
Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.
Sources
- visual properties: JPL SBDB (lookup)
- orbital elements: JPL SBDB