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Asteroid Near-Earth

2021 GT2

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(2021 GT2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.165 AU
True anomaly
164.72°
Distance from Earth
2.084 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 GT2 — 1.165 AU from the Sun 2021 GT2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 GT2 is 2.084 AU from Earth today (17.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 47m 11s
Declination
-06° 41′ 05″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
2.08 AU
Elongation from the Sun
16.57° — 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
0.955 AU
Eccentricity
0.2328
Inclination
3.07°
Orbital period
340.8 days
Perihelion
0.733 AU
Aphelion
1.177 AU
Longitude of ascending node
239.75°
Argument of periapsis
134.47°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 5.8 LD
0.0148 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.281

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
94
Data arc
428 days
First observed
4 April 2021
Last observed
6 June 2022
Residual RMS
0.34 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
1 September 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.27

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 153 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2021 GT2 at 2034-01-26 12:54 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2034-01-26 12:54 UTC close approach of 2021 GT2. Catalogue miss distance 38.0 LD · 1.46 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2034-01-23 to 2034-01-29, 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 38.0 LD · 1.46 × 10⁷ km 2034-01-26 12:54 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2034-01-26 12:54 UTC close approach of 2021 GT2. Catalogue miss distance 38.0 LD · 1.46 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2034-01-23 to 2034-01-29, 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
2032-12-11 07:36:00 Venus 0.0769 AU 29.9 LD 4.7 km/s
2034-01-26 12:54:00 Earth 0.0975 AU 38.0 LD 9.5 km/s
2034-11-06 08:46:00 Venus 0.0847 AU 32.9 LD 8.9 km/s
2034-11-07 06:28:00 Earth 0.2424 AU 94.3 LD 7.9 km/s
2035-04-02 02:25:00 Earth 0.1824 AU 71.0 LD 5.8 km/s
2035-08-28 18:36:00 Earth 0.2505 AU 97.5 LD 7.6 km/s
2036-06-05 00:30:00 Earth 0.0671 AU 26.1 LD 8.8 km/s
2037-05-20 18:34:00 Earth 0.4708 AU 183.2 LD 21.1 km/s
2047-02-10 13:34:00 Earth 0.4359 AU 169.6 LD 20.2 km/s
2048-01-25 02:04:00 Earth 0.0503 AU 19.6 LD 7.4 km/s

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

Sources