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Centaur

2016 US244

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(2016 US244)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
11.746 AU
True anomaly
183.43°
Distance from Earth
11.373 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 2016 US244 — 11.746 AU from the Sun 2016 US244
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2016 US244 is 11.373 AU from Earth today (1.6 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
20h 34m 20s
Declination
-10° 25′ 50″
Constellation
Capricornus
Distance from Earth
11.38 AU
Elongation from the Sun
108.91° — well clear of the Sun

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
6.656 AU
Eccentricity
0.7757
Inclination
7.96°
Orbital period
17.17 years
Perihelion
1.493 AU
Aphelion
11.819 AU
Longitude of ascending node
210.66°
Argument of periapsis
278.7°
Epoch · J2000
2457690.5
Orbit class · CEN
Centaur
Earth MOID · 207.6 LD
0.5334 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.196

Orbit quality

Orbit very uncertain — the object may be effectively lost (uncertainty code 9).

Observations used
12
Data arc
24 hours
First observed
28 October 2016
Last observed
29 October 2016
Residual RMS
0.17 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
10 October 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
18.97

Discovery & classification

Centaur

Sources