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Asteroid Near-Earth

2021 XM

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(2021 XM)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.515 AU
True anomaly
315.61°
Distance from Earth
1.494 AU
As of
16 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 XM — 0.515 AU from the Sun 2021 XM
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 XM is 1.494 AU from Earth today (12.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 53m 05s
Declination
-10° 19′ 21″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.49 AU
Elongation from the Sun
6.5° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
0.747 AU
Eccentricity
0.3632
Inclination
8.58°
Orbital period
236 days
Perihelion
0.476 AU
Aphelion
1.019 AU
Longitude of ascending node
66.19°
Argument of periapsis
199.86°
Epoch · J2000
2459550.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 0.3 LD
0.0007 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.66

Orbit quality

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

Observations used
25
Data arc
4 days
First observed
1 December 2021
Last observed
5 December 2021
Residual RMS
0.33 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
10 January 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
27.2

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 78 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2021 XM at 2030-11-27 18:16 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-11-27 18:16 UTC close approach of 2021 XM. Catalogue miss distance 113.2 LD · 4.35 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-11-24 to 2030-11-30, 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. Sun 113.2 LD · 4.35 × 10⁷ km 2030-11-27 18:16 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-11-27 18:16 UTC close approach of 2021 XM. Catalogue miss distance 113.2 LD · 4.35 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-11-24 to 2030-11-30, 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.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2027-06-28 07:15:00 Merc 0.0436 AU 17.0 LD 15.3 km/s
2027-06-28 07:15:00 Mercury 0.0436 AU 17.0 LD 15.3 km/s
2030-11-27 18:16:00 Earth 0.2908 AU 113.2 LD 18 km/s
2033-03-08 18:40:00 Venus 0.0665 AU 25.9 LD 14.1 km/s
2035-01-09 15:49:00 Earth 0.2179 AU 84.8 LD 14 km/s
2036-01-06 03:32:00 Venus 0.1158 AU 45.1 LD 8.8 km/s
2036-08-20 20:26:00 Venus 0.1244 AU 48.4 LD 18.9 km/s
2037-10-18 23:00:00 Mercury 0.0478 AU 18.6 LD 15.5 km/s
2037-10-18 23:00:00 Merc 0.0478 AU 18.6 LD 15.5 km/s
2039-10-05 12:10:00 Mercury 0.0176 AU 6.9 LD 12.3 km/s

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

Sources