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Asteroid Near-Earth

2021 AF5

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(2021 AF5)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.929 AU
True anomaly
271.96°
Distance from Earth
1.883 AU
As of
22 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 2021 AF5 — 0.929 AU from the Sun 2021 AF5
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 AF5 is 1.883 AU from Earth today (15.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 35m 28s
Declination
-13° 19′ 26″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
1.88 AU
Elongation from the Sun
11.47° — 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
0.936 AU
Eccentricity
0.0714
Inclination
4.25°
Orbital period
330.8 days
Perihelion
0.869 AU
Aphelion
1.003 AU
Longitude of ascending node
112.29°
Argument of periapsis
208.52°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 3.4 LD
0.0088 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.403

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
81
Data arc
26 days
First observed
11 January 2021
Last observed
6 February 2021
Residual RMS
0.35 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.82

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 50 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2021 AF5 at 2030-01-01 22:55 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-01-01 22:55 UTC close approach of 2021 AF5. Catalogue miss distance 141.9 LD · 5.46 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-12-29 to 2030-01-04, 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 141.9 LD · 5.46 × 10⁷ km 2030-01-01 22:55 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-01-01 22:55 UTC close approach of 2021 AF5. Catalogue miss distance 141.9 LD · 5.46 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-12-29 to 2030-01-04, 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
2027-12-14 13:39:00 Venus 0.145 AU 56.4 LD 2.4 km/s
2030-01-01 22:55:00 Earth 0.3646 AU 141.9 LD 13.3 km/s
2030-09-03 21:26:00 Earth 0.1457 AU 56.7 LD 3.8 km/s
2031-03-14 05:08:00 Earth 0.1625 AU 63.2 LD 6.5 km/s
2039-12-29 06:25:00 Earth 0.0781 AU 30.4 LD 4.6 km/s
2040-06-12 23:31:00 Earth 0.1231 AU 47.9 LD 3.5 km/s
2041-03-08 22:34:00 Earth 0.4301 AU 167.4 LD 15 km/s
2043-04-20 04:02:00 Venus 0.1432 AU 55.7 LD 2.2 km/s
2049-01-06 04:35:00 Earth 0.4888 AU 190.2 LD 17.1 km/s
2050-02-17 14:01:00 Earth 0.0596 AU 23.2 LD 2.9 km/s

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

Sources