Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2021 WF1

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2021 WF1)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.888 AU
True anomaly
148.17°
Distance from Earth
0.473 AU
As of
15 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 — 0.997 AU from the Sun Earth 2021 WF1 — 0.888 AU from the Sun 2021 WF1
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 WF1 is 0.473 AU from Earth today (3.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 38m 22s
Declination
+54° 39′ 33″
Constellation
Ursa Major
Distance from Earth
0.47 AU
Elongation from the Sun
63.71° — 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.

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
0.68 AU
Eccentricity
0.6019
Inclination
39.01°
Orbital period
204.9 days
Perihelion
0.271 AU
Aphelion
1.09 AU
Longitude of ascending node
250.64°
Argument of periapsis
346.7°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 20.5 LD
0.0526 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
8.098

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
101
Data arc
9.02 years
First observed
8 November 2016
Last observed
15 November 2025
Residual RMS
0.41 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
18 November 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
21.86

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 53 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2021 WF1 at 2030-12-04 23:00 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-12-04 23:00 UTC close approach of 2021 WF1. Catalogue miss distance 21.2 LD · 8.14 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-12-01 to 2030-12-07, 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 south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 2 Dec 21.2 LD · 8.14 × 10⁶ km 2030-12-04 23:00 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-12-04 23:00 UTC close approach of 2021 WF1. Catalogue miss distance 21.2 LD · 8.14 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-12-01 to 2030-12-07, 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 south 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
2030-12-04 23:00:00 Earth 0.0544 AU 21.2 LD 20.6 km/s
2035-11-28 13:42:00 Earth 0.1917 AU 74.6 LD 19.8 km/s
2039-12-05 20:15:00 Earth 0.0995 AU 38.7 LD 22.3 km/s
2044-12-01 14:22:00 Earth 0.1222 AU 47.6 LD 19.8 km/s
2048-12-03 19:09:00 Earth 0.1982 AU 77.2 LD 25 km/s
2053-12-04 13:36:00 Earth 0.0589 AU 22.9 LD 20.5 km/s
2062-12-05 18:03:00 Earth 0.0862 AU 33.5 LD 22 km/s
2067-12-01 21:41:00 Earth 0.1337 AU 52.0 LD 19.7 km/s
2071-12-05 00:14:00 Earth 0.1805 AU 70.3 LD 24.5 km/s
2076-12-04 01:42:00 Earth 0.067 AU 26.1 LD 20.3 km/s

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

Sources