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Asteroid Near-Earth

2023 QU

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(2023 QU)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.928 AU
True anomaly
106.16°
Distance from Earth
1.918 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 QU — 0.928 AU from the Sun 2023 QU
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2023 QU is 1.918 AU from Earth today (16.0 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 42m 05s
Declination
-14° 47′ 42″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.92 AU
Elongation from the Sun
3.96° — 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
0.941 AU
Eccentricity
0.3172
Inclination
9.37°
Orbital period
333.2 days
Perihelion
0.642 AU
Aphelion
1.239 AU
Longitude of ascending node
328.26°
Argument of periapsis
134.21°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 13.5 LD
0.0346 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.328

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
21
Data arc
10 days
First observed
18 August 2023
Last observed
28 August 2023
Residual RMS
0.54 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
28 August 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.11

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 88 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2023 QU at 2031-05-17 20:03 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2031-05-17 20:03 UTC close approach of 2023 QU. Catalogue miss distance 173.4 LD · 6.67 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2031-05-14 to 2031-05-20, 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 173.4 LD · 6.67 × 10⁷ km 2031-05-17 20:03 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2031-05-17 20:03 UTC close approach of 2023 QU. Catalogue miss distance 173.4 LD · 6.67 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2031-05-14 to 2031-05-20, 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
2027-07-14 23:18:00 Venus 0.1134 AU 44.1 LD 9.9 km/s
2031-05-17 20:03:00 Earth 0.4456 AU 173.4 LD 21.6 km/s
2032-04-09 04:42:00 Earth 0.1883 AU 73.3 LD 7.1 km/s
2033-01-09 20:23:00 Earth 0.3499 AU 136.2 LD 13.1 km/s
2033-08-14 18:30:00 Earth 0.1695 AU 65.9 LD 7.4 km/s
2034-08-23 00:05:00 Earth 0.3356 AU 130.6 LD 19.3 km/s
2042-04-29 12:45:00 Earth 0.1675 AU 65.2 LD 11.2 km/s
2043-02-03 06:37:00 Earth 0.3222 AU 125.4 LD 12.2 km/s
2043-07-18 02:29:00 Earth 0.2458 AU 95.7 LD 7.8 km/s
2043-11-20 16:57:00 Earth 0.3284 AU 127.8 LD 9.8 km/s

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

Sources