Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2021 CZ2

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2021 CZ2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.495 AU
True anomaly
335.4°
Distance from Earth
0.967 AU
As of
17 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 2021 CZ2 — 0.495 AU from the Sun 2021 CZ2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 CZ2 is 0.967 AU from Earth today (8.0 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
15h 31m 03s
Declination
-15° 19′ 32″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
0.95 AU
Elongation from the Sun
29.14° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

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
0.821 AU
Eccentricity
0.4132
Inclination
20.26°
Orbital period
271.6 days
Perihelion
0.482 AU
Aphelion
1.16 AU
Longitude of ascending node
295.82°
Argument of periapsis
42.1°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 0.6 LD
0.0015 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.019

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 2).

Observations used
88
Data arc
3.02 years
First observed
7 February 2021
Last observed
14 February 2024
Residual RMS
0.41 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
14 February 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
22.45

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 183 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2021 CZ2 at 2027-01-21 16:00 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-01-21 16:00 UTC close approach of 2021 CZ2. Catalogue miss distance 61.9 LD · 2.38 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-01-18 to 2027-01-24, 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 61.9 LD · 2.38 × 10⁷ km 2027-01-21 16:00 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-01-21 16:00 UTC close approach of 2021 CZ2. Catalogue miss distance 61.9 LD · 2.38 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-01-18 to 2027-01-24, 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
2026-10-08 19:02:00 Merc 0.0941 AU 36.6 LD 18.7 km/s
2026-10-08 19:02:00 Mercury 0.0941 AU 36.6 LD 18.7 km/s
2027-01-21 16:00:00 Earth 0.1591 AU 61.9 LD 12.2 km/s
2027-06-28 13:25:00 Earth 0.4509 AU 175.5 LD 19.2 km/s
2030-02-05 10:42:00 Earth 0.2663 AU 103.6 LD 11.9 km/s
2030-06-10 14:34:00 Earth 0.4164 AU 162.1 LD 16.3 km/s
2033-02-26 00:14:00 Earth 0.3305 AU 128.6 LD 11.7 km/s
2033-05-19 07:34:00 Earth 0.3799 AU 147.8 LD 13 km/s
2036-04-11 04:17:00 Earth 0.3479 AU 135.4 LD 11.1 km/s
2039-04-09 03:27:00 Earth 0.3721 AU 144.8 LD 16.1 km/s

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

Sources