Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2022 HE3

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2022 HE3)

2022 HE3 is an asteroid in the Apollo orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.72 AU to 1.29 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 370.2 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 4 May 2022.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.176 AU
True anomaly
221.91°
Distance from Earth
1.351 AU
As of
3 November 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 — 0.992 AU from the Sun Earth 2022 HE3 — 1.176 AU from the Sun 2022 HE3
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2022 HE3 is 1.351 AU from Earth today (11.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
18h 29m 48s
Declination
-06° 37′ 30″
Constellation
Scutum
Distance from Earth
1.35 AU
Elongation from the Sun
57.78° — 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
1.009 AU
Eccentricity
0.2827
Inclination
20.29°
Orbital period
370.2 days
Perihelion
0.724 AU
Aphelion
1.294 AU
Longitude of ascending node
216.09°
Argument of periapsis
246.41°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · APO
Apollo
Earth MOID · 12.2 LD
0.0315 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
5.949

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
61
Data arc
6 days
First observed
27 April 2022
Last observed
3 May 2022
Residual RMS
0.38 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
4 May 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.32

Discovery & classification

Apollo Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 49 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2022 HE3 at 2027-05-06 22:46 UTC Sun 154.8 LD · 5.95 × 10⁷ km 2027-05-06 22:46 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-05-06 22:46 UTC close approach of 2022 HE3. Catalogue miss distance 154.8 LD · 5.95 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-05-03 to 2027-05-09, 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
2027-05-06 22:46:00 Earth 0.3977 AU 154.8 LD 22.3 km/s
2028-01-28 11:23:00 Venus 0.1136 AU 44.2 LD 14.5 km/s
2028-05-09 13:57:00 Earth 0.4768 AU 185.6 LD 24.5 km/s
2096-04-23 05:15:00 Earth 0.1387 AU 54.0 LD 11 km/s
2097-04-22 20:14:00 Earth 0.0666 AU 25.9 LD 11.9 km/s
2098-04-24 01:45:00 Earth 0.0348 AU 13.5 LD 13.2 km/s
2099-04-26 06:51:00 Earth 0.1021 AU 39.7 LD 14.8 km/s
2100-04-29 04:10:00 Earth 0.1826 AU 71.1 LD 16.7 km/s
2117-04-11 05:44:00 Venus 0.0937 AU 36.5 LD 16.6 km/s
2134-07-03 02:00:00 Venus 0.0878 AU 34.2 LD 16.3 km/s

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

Sources