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Asteroid Near-Earth

2021 XP3

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(2021 XP3)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.781 AU
True anomaly
110.57°
Distance from Earth
0.269 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 XP3 — 0.781 AU from the Sun 2021 XP3
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 XP3 is 0.269 AU from Earth today (2.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 32m 17s
Declination
+05° 54′ 11″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
0.27 AU
Elongation from the Sun
32.71° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
0.795 AU
Eccentricity
0.3912
Inclination
3.01°
Orbital period
259 days
Perihelion
0.484 AU
Aphelion
1.106 AU
Longitude of ascending node
232.07°
Argument of periapsis
51.1°
Epoch · J2000
2459554.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 5.2 LD
0.0134 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.262

Orbit quality

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

Observations used
19
Data arc
24 hours
First observed
6 December 2021
Last observed
7 December 2021
Residual RMS
0.53 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
7 December 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.71

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 77 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2021 XP3 at 2033-12-06 18:15 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2033-12-06 18:15 UTC close approach of 2021 XP3. Catalogue miss distance 137.5 LD · 5.29 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2033-12-03 to 2033-12-09, 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 137.5 LD · 5.29 × 10⁷ km 2033-12-06 18:15 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2033-12-06 18:15 UTC close approach of 2021 XP3. Catalogue miss distance 137.5 LD · 5.29 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2033-12-03 to 2033-12-09, 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
2031-09-26 03:44:00 Venus 0.1183 AU 46.0 LD 19.6 km/s
2033-12-06 18:15:00 Earth 0.3533 AU 137.5 LD 21.9 km/s
2035-01-27 09:21:00 Venus 0.0679 AU 26.4 LD 14.6 km/s
2037-02-08 12:46:00 Earth 0.1173 AU 45.7 LD 13.6 km/s
2038-11-30 07:41:00 Earth 0.1534 AU 59.7 LD 15.2 km/s
2040-12-16 07:09:00 Venus 0.0853 AU 33.2 LD 17.7 km/s
2042-02-02 20:24:00 Earth 0.311 AU 121.0 LD 20.3 km/s
2050-03-07 11:58:00 Venus 0.0512 AU 19.9 LD 14.4 km/s
2050-12-12 01:32:00 Earth 0.4767 AU 185.5 LD 26.1 km/s
2053-07-06 21:34:00 Venus 0.1457 AU 56.7 LD 20.7 km/s

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

Sources