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Centaur

2022 WC21

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(2022 WC21)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
7.704 AU
True anomaly
150.94°
Distance from Earth
7.862 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 2022 WC21 — 7.704 AU from the Sun 2022 WC21
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2022 WC21 is 7.862 AU from Earth today (1.1 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
18h 25m 06s
Declination
-23° 52′ 04″
Constellation
Sagittarius
Distance from Earth
7.87 AU
Elongation from the Sun
76.69° — well clear of the Sun

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
5.767 AU
Eccentricity
0.6547
Inclination
1.28°
Orbital period
13.85 years
Perihelion
1.991 AU
Aphelion
9.543 AU
Longitude of ascending node
76.68°
Argument of periapsis
55.35°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · CEN
Centaur
Earth MOID · 391.6 LD
1.0061 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.493

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).

Observations used
28
Data arc
69 days
First observed
16 November 2022
Last observed
24 January 2023
Residual RMS
0.46 ″
Solution · Giorgini
31 May 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
17.06

Discovery & classification

Centaur

Sources