2021 PZ9 is an asteroid in the Aten orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.8 AU to 1.18 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 359.8 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 14 August 2021.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 1.162 AU
- True anomaly
- 202.14°
- Distance from Earth
- 0.202 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
- 02h 07m 11s
- Declination
- -20° 51′ 42″
- Constellation
- Cetus
- Distance from Earth
- 0.2 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 143.35° — 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.
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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
- 0.1942
- Inclination
- 5.3°
- Orbital period
- 359.8 days
- Perihelion
- 0.798 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.182 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 137.58°
- Argument of periapsis
- 57.97°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · ATE
- Aten
- Earth MOID · 7.7 LD
- 0.0198 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 6.108
Orbit quality
Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).
- Observations used
- 11
- Data arc
- 3 days
- First observed
- 8 August 2021
- Last observed
- 11 August 2021
- Residual RMS
- 0.6 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 14 August 2021
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 26.94
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 60 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-03-08 06:19 UTC close approach of 2021 PZ9. Catalogue miss distance 73.4 LD · 2.82 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-03-05 to 2027-03-11, 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. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-11-02 09:17:00 | Earth | 0.1974 AU | 76.8 LD | 5.1 km/s |
| 2027-03-08 06:19:00 | Earth | 0.1886 AU | 73.4 LD | 6.3 km/s |
| 2028-02-11 23:54:00 | Earth | 0.1488 AU | 57.9 LD | 5.3 km/s |
| 2029-01-11 22:18:00 | Earth | 0.086 AU | 33.5 LD | 4.8 km/s |
| 2030-01-01 12:09:00 | Earth | 0.0608 AU | 23.7 LD | 7 km/s |
| 2030-12-27 04:48:00 | Earth | 0.1318 AU | 51.3 LD | 9.8 km/s |
| 2031-12-22 12:35:00 | Earth | 0.2244 AU | 87.3 LD | 12.7 km/s |
| 2032-12-17 00:47:00 | Earth | 0.321 AU | 124.9 LD | 15.7 km/s |
| 2033-12-12 16:22:00 | Earth | 0.4183 AU | 162.8 LD | 18.7 km/s |
| 2081-08-16 00:24:00 | Earth | 0.4756 AU | 185.1 LD | 20.2 km/s |
Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.
Sources
- visual properties: JPL SBDB (lookup)
- orbital elements: JPL SBDB