2021 GD5 is an asteroid in the Aten orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.77 AU to 1.21 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 360 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 0.864 AU
- True anomaly
- 294.28°
- Distance from Earth
- 0.302 AU
- As of
- 2 November 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.
In the sky
- Right ascension
- 18h 25m 50s
- Declination
- -11° 14′ 38″
- Constellation
- Scutum
- Distance from Earth
- 0.3 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 56.19° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn
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.
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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
- 0.99 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.221
- Inclination
- 36.73°
- Orbital period
- 360 days
- Perihelion
- 0.771 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.209 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 18.9°
- Argument of periapsis
- 71.74°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · ATE
- Aten
- Earth MOID · 4.0 LD
- 0.0102 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 5.936
Orbit quality
Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).
- Observations used
- 62
- Data arc
- 2 days
- First observed
- 8 April 2021
- Last observed
- 10 April 2021
- Residual RMS
- 0.33 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 15 April 2021
Physical properties
- Rotation period
- 0.33 hours
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 27.2
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 35 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-04-03 07:37 UTC close approach of 2021 GD5. Catalogue miss distance 190.1 LD · 7.31 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-03-31 to 2027-04-06, 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.
| When (UTC) | Body | Distance | Lunar distances | Relative speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-25 18:36:00 | Earth | 0.2755 AU | 107.2 LD | 19.9 km/s |
| 2027-04-03 07:37:00 | Earth | 0.4886 AU | 190.1 LD | 19.8 km/s |
| 2027-10-20 13:20:00 | Earth | 0.2012 AU | 78.3 LD | 19.9 km/s |
| 2028-10-14 13:38:00 | Earth | 0.1395 AU | 54.3 LD | 20.1 km/s |
| 2029-10-09 18:13:00 | Earth | 0.1126 AU | 43.8 LD | 20.7 km/s |
| 2030-10-05 00:48:00 | Earth | 0.1417 AU | 55.1 LD | 21.5 km/s |
| 2031-09-30 08:23:00 | Earth | 0.2045 AU | 79.6 LD | 22.6 km/s |
| 2032-09-24 17:50:00 | Earth | 0.2791 AU | 108.6 LD | 24 km/s |
| 2033-09-20 05:05:00 | Earth | 0.3576 AU | 139.2 LD | 25.5 km/s |
| 2034-09-15 17:37:00 | Earth | 0.4378 AU | 170.4 LD | 27.2 km/s |
Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.
Sources
- visual properties: JPL SBDB (lookup)
- physical properties: JPL SBDB (lookup)
- orbital elements: JPL SBDB