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Asteroid Near-Earth

2023 HC3

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(2023 HC3)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.748 AU
True anomaly
40.17°
Distance from Earth
1.255 AU
As of
22 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 HC3 — 0.748 AU from the Sun 2023 HC3
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2023 HC3 is 1.255 AU from Earth today (10.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 32m 38s
Declination
+00° 53′ 40″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
1.26 AU
Elongation from the Sun
36.51° — 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
0.951 AU
Eccentricity
0.2507
Inclination
3.84°
Orbital period
338.7 days
Perihelion
0.712 AU
Aphelion
1.189 AU
Longitude of ascending node
245.19°
Argument of periapsis
195°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 19.5 LD
0.0501 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.298

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
69
Data arc
409 days
First observed
20 April 2023
Last observed
2 June 2024
Residual RMS
0.5 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
4 June 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
23.94

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 160 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2023 HC3 at 2035-04-18 13:54 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2035-04-18 13:54 UTC close approach of 2023 HC3. Catalogue miss distance 129.1 LD · 4.96 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2035-04-15 to 2035-04-21, 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 129.1 LD · 4.96 × 10⁷ km 2035-04-18 13:54 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2035-04-18 13:54 UTC close approach of 2023 HC3. Catalogue miss distance 129.1 LD · 4.96 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2035-04-15 to 2035-04-21, 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
2035-04-18 13:54:00 Earth 0.3317 AU 129.1 LD 16.8 km/s
2036-04-24 21:14:00 Earth 0.1135 AU 44.2 LD 5.2 km/s
2036-12-07 23:34:00 Earth 0.2726 AU 106.1 LD 9.5 km/s
2037-08-01 07:36:00 Earth 0.1116 AU 43.4 LD 4.9 km/s
2038-08-02 08:16:00 Earth 0.3488 AU 135.7 LD 17.1 km/s
2048-04-12 04:56:00 Earth 0.1997 AU 77.7 LD 12.7 km/s
2049-01-31 04:42:00 Earth 0.2274 AU 88.5 LD 6.7 km/s
2049-05-25 18:15:00 Earth 0.166 AU 64.6 LD 5.8 km/s
2049-11-15 19:37:00 Earth 0.2616 AU 101.8 LD 8.9 km/s
2050-08-13 14:56:00 Earth 0.0771 AU 30.0 LD 8 km/s

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

Sources