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Centaur

2021 JN58

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(2021 JN58)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
7.835 AU
True anomaly
161.01°
Distance from Earth
6.929 AU
As of
11 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.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth 2021 JN58 — 7.835 AU from the Sun 2021 JN58
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 JN58 is 6.929 AU from Earth today (57.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
02h 18m 35s
Declination
-12° 35′ 51″
Constellation
Cetus
Distance from Earth
6.93 AU
Elongation from the Sun
153.73° — well clear of the Sun

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
5.88 AU
Eccentricity
0.3762
Inclination
22.35°
Orbital period
14.26 years
Perihelion
3.668 AU
Aphelion
8.092 AU
Longitude of ascending node
129.37°
Argument of periapsis
97.08°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · CEN
Centaur
Earth MOID · 1,073.8 LD
2.7591 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.707

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
25
Data arc
4.6 years
First observed
20 December 2017
Last observed
28 July 2022
Residual RMS
0.46 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
11 April 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
16.46

Discovery & classification

Centaur

Close approaches 5 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2061-11-17 23:47:00 Juptr 1.5042 AU 585.4 LD 10.6 km/s
2144-10-30 08:53:00 Juptr 1.5146 AU 589.4 LD 10.6 km/s
2175-09-23 18:21:00 Juptr 1.0326 AU 401.9 LD 9.7 km/s

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

Sources