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Asteroid Near-Earth

2023 FO4

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(2023 FO4)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.09 AU
True anomaly
168.52°
Distance from Earth
2.08 AU
As of
21 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 — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth 2023 FO4 — 1.09 AU from the Sun 2023 FO4
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2023 FO4 is 2.08 AU from Earth today (17.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 33m 29s
Declination
-08° 57′ 26″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
2.08 AU
Elongation from the Sun
3.94° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
0.917 AU
Eccentricity
0.1932
Inclination
3.76°
Orbital period
321 days
Perihelion
0.74 AU
Aphelion
1.095 AU
Longitude of ascending node
179.19°
Argument of periapsis
213.36°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 9.2 LD
0.0237 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.494

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
30
Data arc
3 days
First observed
25 March 2023
Last observed
28 March 2023
Residual RMS
0.53 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
29 March 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
26.26

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 42 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2023 FO4 at 2030-02-26 23:05 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-02-26 23:05 UTC close approach of 2023 FO4. Catalogue miss distance 50.3 LD · 1.93 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-02-23 to 2030-03-01, 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. Sun 50.3 LD · 1.93 × 10⁷ km 2030-02-26 23:05 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-02-26 23:05 UTC close approach of 2023 FO4. Catalogue miss distance 50.3 LD · 1.93 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-02-23 to 2030-03-01, 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
2030-02-26 23:05:00 Earth 0.1292 AU 50.3 LD 9 km/s
2030-10-06 23:20:00 Earth 0.2527 AU 98.3 LD 8 km/s
2031-06-07 02:48:00 Earth 0.2709 AU 105.4 LD 13 km/s
2037-03-06 10:36:00 Earth 0.3433 AU 133.6 LD 15.7 km/s
2037-11-13 01:30:00 Earth 0.248 AU 96.5 LD 7.6 km/s
2038-06-12 20:26:00 Earth 0.0836 AU 32.5 LD 6.6 km/s
2052-02-29 06:41:00 Earth 0.0239 AU 9.3 LD 5.1 km/s
2052-09-11 12:11:00 Earth 0.2334 AU 90.8 LD 7 km/s
2053-05-31 22:05:00 Earth 0.4031 AU 156.9 LD 17.1 km/s
2059-03-01 03:56:00 Earth 0.1967 AU 76.5 LD 11.1 km/s

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

Sources