Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2021 XA6

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2021 XA6)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.799 AU
True anomaly
57.99°
Distance from Earth
0.469 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 XA6 — 0.799 AU from the Sun 2021 XA6
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 XA6 is 0.469 AU from Earth today (3.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
17h 09m 06s
Declination
-34° 22′ 18″
Constellation
Scorpius
Distance from Earth
0.46 AU
Elongation from the Sun
52.32° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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.

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
0.89 AU
Eccentricity
0.1604
Inclination
6.74°
Orbital period
306.8 days
Perihelion
0.747 AU
Aphelion
1.033 AU
Longitude of ascending node
79.35°
Argument of periapsis
223.08°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 0.7 LD
0.0018 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.656

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).

Observations used
146
Data arc
21 days
First observed
12 December 2021
Last observed
2 January 2022
Residual RMS
0.38 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
28 July 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.83

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 25 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2021 XA6 at 2038-03-06 16:48 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2038-03-06 16:48 UTC close approach of 2021 XA6. Catalogue miss distance 53.8 LD · 2.07 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2038-03-03 to 2038-03-09, 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. 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 53.8 LD · 2.07 × 10⁷ km 2038-03-06 16:48 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2038-03-06 16:48 UTC close approach of 2021 XA6. Catalogue miss distance 53.8 LD · 2.07 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2038-03-03 to 2038-03-09, 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. 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
2033-05-22 03:31:00 Venus 0.0444 AU 17.3 LD 4.4 km/s
2038-03-06 16:48:00 Earth 0.1381 AU 53.8 LD 6.6 km/s
2042-08-09 18:09:00 Venus 0.0872 AU 33.9 LD 6.6 km/s
2043-01-03 02:08:00 Earth 0.0791 AU 30.8 LD 4.4 km/s
2043-04-08 06:58:00 Earth 0.1556 AU 60.6 LD 3.4 km/s
2047-12-11 11:52:00 Earth 0.0317 AU 12.3 LD 6.2 km/s
2061-01-20 18:29:00 Venus 0.1413 AU 55.0 LD 9.1 km/s
2064-03-06 08:49:00 Earth 0.1646 AU 64.1 LD 7.9 km/s
2069-01-10 03:19:00 Earth 0.0906 AU 35.3 LD 4.4 km/s
2073-12-10 17:01:00 Earth 0.0553 AU 21.5 LD 6.8 km/s

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

Sources