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Asteroid Near-Earth

2022 VU

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(2022 VU)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.065 AU
True anomaly
208.3°
Distance from Earth
1.015 AU
As of
24 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 — 0.994 AU from the Sun Earth 2022 VU — 1.065 AU from the Sun 2022 VU
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2022 VU is 1.015 AU from Earth today (8.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 44m 59s
Declination
+01° 27′ 14″
Constellation
Sextans
Distance from Earth
1.01 AU
Elongation from the Sun
64° — 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
0.968 AU
Eccentricity
0.1173
Inclination
15.68°
Orbital period
348 days
Perihelion
0.855 AU
Aphelion
1.082 AU
Longitude of ascending node
226.62°
Argument of periapsis
15.81°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 32.5 LD
0.0836 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.199

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
26
Data arc
20 days
First observed
2 November 2022
Last observed
22 November 2022
Residual RMS
0.45 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
22 November 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.96

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 52 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2022 VU at 2041-10-20 02:16 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2041-10-20 02:16 UTC close approach of 2022 VU. Catalogue miss distance 113.0 LD · 4.34 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2041-10-17 to 2041-10-23, 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 113.0 LD · 4.34 × 10⁷ km 2041-10-20 02:16 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2041-10-20 02:16 UTC close approach of 2022 VU. Catalogue miss distance 113.0 LD · 4.34 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2041-10-17 to 2041-10-23, 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
2041-10-20 02:16:00 Earth 0.2904 AU 113.0 LD 12.8 km/s
2042-11-02 17:13:00 Earth 0.0902 AU 35.1 LD 8.6 km/s
2043-05-18 10:29:00 Earth 0.167 AU 65.0 LD 9.7 km/s
2043-11-30 06:28:00 Earth 0.2012 AU 78.3 LD 8.8 km/s
2044-04-03 23:20:00 Earth 0.1947 AU 75.8 LD 10 km/s
2045-02-12 03:52:00 Earth 0.3786 AU 147.3 LD 12.8 km/s
2046-03-22 17:21:00 Venus 0.1417 AU 55.2 LD 11.3 km/s
2061-10-19 08:54:00 Earth 0.3621 AU 140.9 LD 14.7 km/s
2062-10-28 05:32:00 Earth 0.1301 AU 50.6 LD 9.3 km/s
2063-11-20 22:48:00 Earth 0.1493 AU 58.1 LD 8.5 km/s

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

Sources