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Centaur

2021 PD

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(2021 PD)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
9.11 AU
True anomaly
157.69°
Distance from Earth
9.751 AU
As of
11 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.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth 2021 PD — 9.11 AU from the Sun 2021 PD
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 PD is 9.751 AU from Earth today (1.4 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
10h 11m 15s
Declination
+11° 21′ 28″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
9.74 AU
Elongation from the Sun
48.42° — 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.

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
6.315 AU
Eccentricity
0.6151
Inclination
71.3°
Orbital period
15.87 years
Perihelion
2.431 AU
Aphelion
10.2 AU
Longitude of ascending node
145.95°
Argument of periapsis
202.45°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · CEN
Centaur
Earth MOID · 569.4 LD
1.4632 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
1.381

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).

Observations used
63
Data arc
63 days
First observed
30 July 2021
Last observed
1 October 2021
Residual RMS
0.39 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 March 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
16.48

Discovery & classification

Centaur

Sources