2021 RZ3 is an asteroid in the Apollo orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.96 AU to 1.07 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 372.9 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 28 July 2026.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 1.053 AU
- True anomaly
- 138.15°
- Distance from Earth
- 0.647 AU
- As of
- 3 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
- 20h 01m 27s
- Declination
- -19° 28′ 22″
- Constellation
- Sagittarius
- Distance from Earth
- 0.65 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 76.77° — 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
- 1.014 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.0533
- Inclination
- 1.67°
- Orbital period
- 372.9 days
- Perihelion
- 0.96 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.068 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 343°
- Argument of periapsis
- 243.46°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · APO
- Apollo
- Earth MOID · 0.6 LD
- 0.0016 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 6.013
Orbit quality
Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 4).
- Observations used
- 58
- Data arc
- 30 days
- First observed
- 8 September 2021
- Last observed
- 8 October 2021
- Residual RMS
- 0.49 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 28 July 2026
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 27.33
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 29 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2068-02-20 14:25 UTC close approach of 2021 RZ3. Catalogue miss distance 63.1 LD · 2.43 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2068-02-17 to 2068-02-23, 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. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2068-02-20 14:25:00 | Earth | 0.1622 AU | 63.1 LD | 6.8 km/s |
| 2069-02-25 03:45:00 | Earth | 0.0397 AU | 15.5 LD | 3.2 km/s |
| 2070-03-26 11:43:00 | Earth | 0.0409 AU | 15.9 LD | 1.5 km/s |
| 2070-11-21 13:43:00 | Earth | 0.0807 AU | 31.4 LD | 2 km/s |
| 2071-06-27 16:54:00 | Earth | 0.0527 AU | 20.5 LD | 1.5 km/s |
| 2071-09-16 13:21:00 | Earth | 0.0531 AU | 20.6 LD | 1.5 km/s |
| 2072-08-13 04:25:00 | Earth | 0.0347 AU | 13.5 LD | 3 km/s |
| 2073-08-18 03:18:00 | Earth | 0.1671 AU | 65.0 LD | 6.8 km/s |
| 2114-02-18 14:17:00 | Earth | 0.1771 AU | 68.9 LD | 7.3 km/s |
| 2115-02-24 20:31:00 | Earth | 0.0391 AU | 15.2 LD | 3.2 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