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Centaur

2016 UV231

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(2016 UV231)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
8.772 AU
True anomaly
197.2°
Distance from Earth
8.31 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 UV231 — 8.772 AU from the Sun 2016 UV231
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2016 UV231 is 8.31 AU from Earth today (1.2 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
21h 38m 26s
Declination
-36° 08′ 04″
Constellation
Piscis Austrinus
Distance from Earth
8.32 AU
Elongation from the Sun
113.83° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

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
5.683 AU
Eccentricity
0.7458
Inclination
20.23°
Orbital period
13.55 years
Perihelion
1.445 AU
Aphelion
9.922 AU
Longitude of ascending node
37.07°
Argument of periapsis
85.91°
Epoch · J2000
2457688.5
Orbit class · CEN
Centaur
Earth MOID · 241.6 LD
0.6207 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.222

Orbit quality

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

Observations used
11
Data arc
24 hours
First observed
27 October 2016
Last observed
28 October 2016
Residual RMS
0.11 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
10 October 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
19.68

Discovery & classification

Centaur

Sources