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Solar
Asteroid Near-Earth Potentially hazardous

2021 MU2

(2021 MU2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.718 AU
True anomaly
222.18°
Distance from Earth
1.002 AU
As of
2 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 — 1.001 AU from the Sun Earth 2021 MU2 — 0.718 AU from the Sun 2021 MU2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 MU2 is 1.002 AU from Earth today (8.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
15h 12m 37s
Declination
-22° 02′ 37″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
1 AU
Elongation from the Sun
41.65° — 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's up after dark, 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
0.631 AU
Eccentricity
0.6213
Inclination
8.56°
Orbital period
183.1 days
Perihelion
0.239 AU
Aphelion
1.023 AU
Longitude of ascending node
80.61°
Argument of periapsis
358.1°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 2.3 LD
0.006 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
8.786

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 2).

Observations used
32
Data arc
9.97 years
First observed
9 July 2015
Last observed
29 June 2025
Residual RMS
0.56 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
29 June 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
19.73

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object Potentially Hazardous Asteroid

Close approaches 328 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2026-10-25 15:56:00 Mercury 0.0259 AU 10.1 LD 22.3 km/s
2026-10-25 15:56:00 Merc 0.0259 AU 10.1 LD 22.3 km/s
2027-04-05 23:31:00 Venus 0.1439 AU 56.0 LD 28.8 km/s
2027-05-13 23:54:00 Merc 0.0524 AU 20.4 LD 15.3 km/s
2027-05-13 23:54:00 Mercury 0.0524 AU 20.4 LD 15.3 km/s
2031-06-11 22:00:00 Venus 0.131 AU 51.0 LD 27.9 km/s
2032-10-30 00:14:00 Mercury 0.0876 AU 34.1 LD 30.8 km/s
2032-10-30 00:14:00 Merc 0.0876 AU 34.1 LD 30.8 km/s
2033-05-12 11:58:00 Merc 0.0709 AU 27.6 LD 18.8 km/s
2033-05-12 11:58:00 Mercury 0.0709 AU 27.6 LD 18.8 km/s

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

Sources