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Asteroid Near-Earth

2016 VS1

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(2016 VS1)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.013 AU
True anomaly
235.49°
Distance from Earth
0.546 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 VS1 — 1.013 AU from the Sun 2016 VS1
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2016 VS1 is 0.546 AU from Earth today (4.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 02m 12s
Declination
+15° 21′ 37″
Constellation
Cancer
Distance from Earth
0.54 AU
Elongation from the Sun
75.74° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
0.933 AU
Eccentricity
0.2108
Inclination
4.4°
Orbital period
329.2 days
Perihelion
0.736 AU
Aphelion
1.13 AU
Longitude of ascending node
230.42°
Argument of periapsis
314.01°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 8.0 LD
0.0205 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.402

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
61
Data arc
9.03 years
First observed
5 November 2016
Last observed
16 November 2025
Residual RMS
0.51 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
25 November 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.87

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 74 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2016 VS1 at 2034-11-05 21:59 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2034-11-05 21:59 UTC close approach of 2016 VS1. Catalogue miss distance 38.6 LD · 1.48 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2034-11-02 to 2034-11-08, 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 approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. approximate Sun 38.6 LD · 1.48 × 10⁷ km 2034-11-05 21:59 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2034-11-05 21:59 UTC close approach of 2016 VS1. Catalogue miss distance 38.6 LD · 1.48 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2034-11-02 to 2034-11-08, 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 approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2027-01-23 21:44:00 Venus 0.1255 AU 48.8 LD 6.1 km/s
2027-02-16 18:17:00 Venus 0.1254 AU 48.8 LD 4.9 km/s
2034-11-05 21:59:00 Earth 0.0992 AU 38.6 LD 4.8 km/s
2038-10-30 21:42:00 Venus 0.0805 AU 31.3 LD 8.2 km/s
2043-10-11 11:45:00 Earth 0.1349 AU 52.5 LD 5.1 km/s
2052-05-11 08:01:00 Venus 0.0532 AU 20.7 LD 6.4 km/s
2052-06-18 00:06:00 Earth 0.173 AU 67.3 LD 4.5 km/s
2052-09-10 15:01:00 Earth 0.1365 AU 53.1 LD 4.8 km/s
2061-07-31 04:55:00 Earth 0.0839 AU 32.6 LD 5 km/s
2062-11-26 06:09:00 Earth 0.1532 AU 59.6 LD 10.7 km/s

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

Sources