2021 QL1 is an asteroid in the Aten orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.9 AU to 1.09 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 360.2 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 7 September 2022.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 0.972 AU
- True anomaly
- 276.25°
- Distance from Earth
- 0.409 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
- 12h 33m 16s
- Declination
- +55° 18′ 44″
- Constellation
- Ursa Major
- Distance from Earth
- 0.41 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 75° — well clear of the Sun
Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.
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
- 0.991 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.0958
- Inclination
- 19.78°
- Orbital period
- 360.2 days
- Perihelion
- 0.896 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.086 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 336.93°
- Argument of periapsis
- 162.29°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · ATE
- Aten
- Earth MOID · 27.2 LD
- 0.07 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 6.069
Orbit quality
Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 2).
- Observations used
- 50
- Data arc
- 374 days
- First observed
- 28 August 2021
- Last observed
- 6 September 2022
- Residual RMS
- 0.46 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 7 September 2022
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 24.04
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 105 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-12-20 23:34 UTC close approach of 2021 QL1. Catalogue miss distance 174.6 LD · 6.71 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-12-17 to 2026-12-23, 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. At closest approach the object is north of the ecliptic. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-12-20 23:34:00 | Earth | 0.4486 AU | 174.6 LD | 14.3 km/s |
| 2027-09-10 19:07:00 | Earth | 0.4182 AU | 162.7 LD | 15.8 km/s |
| 2028-09-10 03:35:00 | Earth | 0.4957 AU | 192.9 LD | 17.8 km/s |
| 2086-04-20 03:14:00 | Earth | 0.4465 AU | 173.8 LD | 16.2 km/s |
| 2086-08-10 16:26:00 | Earth | 0.43 AU | 167.4 LD | 14.7 km/s |
| 2087-04-09 14:54:00 | Earth | 0.3712 AU | 144.5 LD | 14.9 km/s |
| 2087-08-14 21:33:00 | Earth | 0.3585 AU | 139.5 LD | 13.3 km/s |
| 2088-03-30 03:56:00 | Earth | 0.2968 AU | 115.5 LD | 13.7 km/s |
| 2088-08-17 18:25:00 | Earth | 0.2883 AU | 112.2 LD | 12.1 km/s |
| 2089-03-21 08:32:00 | Earth | 0.2248 AU | 87.5 LD | 12.6 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