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Asteroid Near-Earth

2021 RK7

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(2021 RK7)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.349 AU
True anomaly
171.14°
Distance from Earth
0.572 AU
As of
20 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.

Sun Earth — 0.996 AU from the Sun Earth 2021 RK7 — 1.349 AU from the Sun 2021 RK7
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 RK7 is 0.572 AU from Earth today (4.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
21h 29m 37s
Declination
-01° 34′ 06″
Constellation
Aquarius
Distance from Earth
0.58 AU
Elongation from the Sun
115.83° — 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
0.883 AU
Eccentricity
0.5511
Inclination
6.52°
Orbital period
302.9 days
Perihelion
0.396 AU
Aphelion
1.369 AU
Longitude of ascending node
311.16°
Argument of periapsis
243.46°
Epoch · J2000
2459467.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 14.2 LD
0.0365 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.578

Orbit quality

Orbit very uncertain — the object may be effectively lost (uncertainty code 8).

Observations used
15
Data arc
5 days
First observed
9 September 2021
Last observed
14 September 2021
Residual RMS
0.34 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
14 September 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.25

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 46 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2021 RK7 at 2032-11-25 11:45 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2032-11-25 11:45 UTC close approach of 2021 RK7. Catalogue miss distance 59.1 LD · 2.27 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2032-11-22 to 2032-11-28, 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. Sun 59.1 LD · 2.27 × 10⁷ km 2032-11-25 11:45 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2032-11-25 11:45 UTC close approach of 2021 RK7. Catalogue miss distance 59.1 LD · 2.27 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2032-11-22 to 2032-11-28, 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.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2032-11-25 11:45:00 Earth 0.1519 AU 59.1 LD 13.4 km/s
2037-11-24 07:07:00 Earth 0.1089 AU 42.4 LD 17.4 km/s
2105-11-21 05:06:00 Earth 0.1926 AU 75.0 LD 21.6 km/s
2157-08-23 10:47:00 Earth 0.1121 AU 43.6 LD 13.8 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources