2021 VK1 is an asteroid in the Apollo orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.76 AU to 1.3 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 381.5 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 8 November 2021.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 1.283 AU
- True anomaly
- 195.64°
- Distance from Earth
- 1.132 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
- 19h 57m 23s
- Declination
- -28° 45′ 35″
- Constellation
- Sagittarius
- Distance from Earth
- 1.14 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 73.71° — 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.
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
- 1.029 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.2626
- Inclination
- 10°
- Orbital period
- 381.5 days
- Perihelion
- 0.759 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.3 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 28.22°
- Argument of periapsis
- 119.3°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · APO
- Apollo
- Earth MOID · 21.8 LD
- 0.0559 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 5.9
Orbit quality
Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).
- Observations used
- 37
- Data arc
- 12 days
- First observed
- 27 October 2021
- Last observed
- 8 November 2021
- Residual RMS
- 0.34 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 8 November 2021
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 24.55
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 23 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2043-10-25 14:11 UTC close approach of 2021 VK1. Catalogue miss distance 153.8 LD · 5.91 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2043-10-22 to 2043-10-28, 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. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2035-09-05 00:01:00 | Venus | 0.1396 AU | 54.3 LD | 10.5 km/s |
| 2043-10-25 14:11:00 | Earth | 0.3951 AU | 153.8 LD | 20 km/s |
| 2044-11-04 03:58:00 | Earth | 0.1292 AU | 50.3 LD | 12 km/s |
| 2111-12-12 08:33:00 | Venus | 0.0781 AU | 30.4 LD | 5.6 km/s |
| 2113-10-24 16:13:00 | Earth | 0.4382 AU | 170.5 LD | 21.2 km/s |
| 2114-11-04 16:01:00 | Earth | 0.1718 AU | 66.9 LD | 13.3 km/s |
| 2115-11-03 07:42:00 | Earth | 0.1227 AU | 47.8 LD | 7 km/s |
| 2116-09-23 11:38:00 | Earth | 0.2865 AU | 111.5 LD | 7.5 km/s |
| 2117-02-14 13:53:00 | Earth | 0.2651 AU | 103.2 LD | 8.8 km/s |
| 2117-08-18 00:24:00 | Earth | 0.3379 AU | 131.5 LD | 7.3 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