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Asteroid Near-Earth

2016 VG

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(2016 VG)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.175 AU
True anomaly
160.57°
Distance from Earth
1.045 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 VG — 1.175 AU from the Sun 2016 VG
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2016 VG is 1.045 AU from Earth today (8.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
18h 32m 28s
Declination
-13° 06′ 48″
Constellation
Scutum
Distance from Earth
1.05 AU
Elongation from the Sun
70.17° — 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
0.9 AU
Eccentricity
0.3443
Inclination
9.47°
Orbital period
312 days
Perihelion
0.59 AU
Aphelion
1.21 AU
Longitude of ascending node
223.45°
Argument of periapsis
306.74°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 1.3 LD
0.0032 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.55

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 4).

Observations used
56
Data arc
5 days
First observed
2 November 2016
Last observed
7 November 2016
Residual RMS
0.44 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
26.7

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 167 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2016 VG at 2027-07-15 15:31 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-07-15 15:31 UTC close approach of 2016 VG. Catalogue miss distance 78.7 LD · 3.03 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-07-12 to 2027-07-18, 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 78.7 LD · 3.03 × 10⁷ km 2027-07-15 15:31 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-07-15 15:31 UTC close approach of 2016 VG. Catalogue miss distance 78.7 LD · 3.03 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-07-12 to 2027-07-18, 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
2027-07-15 15:31:00 Earth 0.2023 AU 78.7 LD 6.5 km/s
2028-02-24 02:12:00 Earth 0.4111 AU 160.0 LD 14.7 km/s
2028-10-31 10:20:00 Earth 0.2344 AU 91.2 LD 17.5 km/s
2033-05-29 12:34:00 Earth 0.2888 AU 112.4 LD 9.2 km/s
2033-08-30 23:42:00 Earth 0.2504 AU 97.5 LD 7.8 km/s
2034-02-05 01:16:00 Earth 0.3904 AU 152.0 LD 12.8 km/s
2034-10-26 00:59:00 Earth 0.3794 AU 147.7 LD 21.9 km/s
2037-08-24 18:56:00 Venus 0.1409 AU 54.8 LD 19.1 km/s
2038-08-05 19:47:00 Earth 0.4779 AU 186.0 LD 23.7 km/s
2039-05-06 03:35:00 Earth 0.3465 AU 134.8 LD 12.1 km/s

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

Sources