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Centaur

2023 FX9

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(2023 FX9)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
6.942 AU
True anomaly
120.07°
Distance from Earth
7.152 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 2023 FX9 — 6.942 AU from the Sun 2023 FX9
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2023 FX9 is 7.152 AU from Earth today (59.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
18h 09m 55s
Declination
-18° 25′ 36″
Constellation
Sagittarius
Distance from Earth
7.16 AU
Elongation from the Sun
73.38° — 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
6.491 AU
Eccentricity
0.316
Inclination
20.02°
Orbital period
16.54 years
Perihelion
4.44 AU
Aphelion
8.542 AU
Longitude of ascending node
114.63°
Argument of periapsis
44.7°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · CEN
Centaur
Earth MOID · 1,356.4 LD
3.4854 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.793

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 4).

Observations used
28
Data arc
3.46 years
First observed
5 January 2022
Last observed
20 June 2025
Residual RMS
0.63 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
3 July 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
15.05

Discovery & classification

Centaur

Close approaches 10 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2038-07-07 06:03:00 Juptr 0.9215 AU 358.6 LD 5.4 km/s
2072-06-16 00:25:00 Juptr 1.975 AU 768.6 LD 9.8 km/s
2080-05-30 09:16:00 Satrn 1.8018 AU 701.2 LD 3 km/s
2125-11-02 04:03:00 Juptr 1.9656 AU 765.0 LD 7.9 km/s
2157-06-28 02:03:00 Juptr 1.2321 AU 479.5 LD 5.4 km/s
2192-07-28 09:54:00 Juptr 0.9404 AU 366.0 LD 5.5 km/s

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

Sources