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Asteroid Near-Earth

2023 MA2

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(2023 MA2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.818 AU
True anomaly
20.91°
Distance from Earth
1.515 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 MA2 — 0.818 AU from the Sun 2023 MA2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2023 MA2 is 1.515 AU from Earth today (12.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 49m 14s
Declination
-08° 10′ 23″
Constellation
Crater
Distance from Earth
1.52 AU
Elongation from the Sun
29.8° — 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
0.939 AU
Eccentricity
0.1355
Inclination
18.48°
Orbital period
332.2 days
Perihelion
0.812 AU
Aphelion
1.066 AU
Longitude of ascending node
264.29°
Argument of periapsis
219.4°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 5.1 LD
0.013 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.341

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
14
Data arc
5 days
First observed
17 June 2023
Last observed
22 June 2023
Residual RMS
0.55 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
22 June 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
26.58

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 53 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2023 MA2 at 2033-06-14 21:51 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2033-06-14 21:51 UTC close approach of 2023 MA2. Catalogue miss distance 17.3 LD · 6.66 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2033-06-11 to 2033-06-17, 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 south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 17.3 LD · 6.66 × 10⁶ km 2033-06-14 21:51 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2033-06-14 21:51 UTC close approach of 2023 MA2. Catalogue miss distance 17.3 LD · 6.66 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2033-06-11 to 2033-06-17, 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 south 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
2033-01-22 01:27:00 Venus 0.1154 AU 44.9 LD 13.3 km/s
2033-06-14 21:51:00 Earth 0.0445 AU 17.3 LD 10.1 km/s
2033-12-20 10:32:00 Earth 0.1589 AU 61.8 LD 11.1 km/s
2034-10-15 10:47:00 Earth 0.4245 AU 165.2 LD 15.9 km/s
2043-06-16 16:28:00 Earth 0.1528 AU 59.5 LD 11.7 km/s
2044-01-05 17:52:00 Earth 0.2111 AU 82.2 LD 11.1 km/s
2044-07-01 09:23:00 Earth 0.3547 AU 138.0 LD 11.9 km/s
2044-10-28 16:41:00 Earth 0.3335 AU 129.8 LD 14.2 km/s
2053-06-18 17:47:00 Earth 0.2711 AU 105.5 LD 14.3 km/s
2054-01-25 22:59:00 Earth 0.2812 AU 109.4 LD 10.7 km/s

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

Sources