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Asteroid Near-Earth

2023 RL

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(2023 RL)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.891 AU
True anomaly
238.96°
Distance from Earth
0.148 AU
As of
19 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 — 0.996 AU from the Sun Earth 2023 RL — 0.891 AU from the Sun 2023 RL
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2023 RL is 0.148 AU from Earth today (1.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
16h 24m 20s
Declination
-05° 20′ 07″
Constellation
Ophiuchus
Distance from Earth
0.15 AU
Elongation from the Sun
41.43° — 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
0.827 AU
Eccentricity
0.2603
Inclination
4.35°
Orbital period
274.8 days
Perihelion
0.612 AU
Aphelion
1.042 AU
Longitude of ascending node
343.46°
Argument of periapsis
158.27°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 1.8 LD
0.0045 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.059

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
44
Data arc
3 days
First observed
6 September 2023
Last observed
9 September 2023
Residual RMS
0.36 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
19 September 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
28.45

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 72 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2023 RL at 2029-08-02 02:26 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-08-02 02:26 UTC close approach of 2023 RL. Catalogue miss distance 18.8 LD · 7.22 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-07-30 to 2029-08-05, 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 18.8 LD · 7.22 × 10⁶ km 2029-08-02 02:26 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-08-02 02:26 UTC close approach of 2023 RL. Catalogue miss distance 18.8 LD · 7.22 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-07-30 to 2029-08-05, 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
2026-12-16 21:42:00 Venus 0.0966 AU 37.6 LD 8 km/s
2029-08-02 02:26:00 Earth 0.0483 AU 18.8 LD 5 km/s
2032-07-18 12:35:00 Earth 0.0771 AU 30.0 LD 6.6 km/s
2032-11-13 12:57:00 Earth 0.2494 AU 97.1 LD 4 km/s
2033-10-12 10:21:00 Venus 0.1066 AU 41.5 LD 8.2 km/s
2035-07-17 01:23:00 Earth 0.1537 AU 59.8 LD 9.5 km/s
2035-12-07 07:15:00 Earth 0.2958 AU 115.1 LD 7.3 km/s
2038-07-18 19:12:00 Earth 0.2473 AU 96.2 LD 12.6 km/s
2038-12-23 23:24:00 Earth 0.3278 AU 127.6 LD 9.4 km/s
2040-08-26 16:10:00 Venus 0.0732 AU 28.5 LD 7.7 km/s

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

Sources