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Asteroid Near-Earth Potentially hazardous

2023 RC8

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(2023 RC8)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.178 AU
True anomaly
189.16°
Distance from Earth
0.409 AU
As of
15 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 — 0.997 AU from the Sun Earth 2023 RC8 — 1.178 AU from the Sun 2023 RC8
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2023 RC8 is 0.409 AU from Earth today (3.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
22h 07m 07s
Declination
-53° 06′ 25″
Constellation
Indus
Distance from Earth
0.42 AU
Elongation from the Sun
104.96° — 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
0.704 AU
Eccentricity
0.7324
Inclination
26.95°
Orbital period
215.6 days
Perihelion
0.188 AU
Aphelion
1.219 AU
Longitude of ascending node
161.35°
Argument of periapsis
19.5°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 8.1 LD
0.0209 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.842

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
28
Data arc
16.01 years
First observed
27 August 2010
Last observed
30 August 2026
Residual RMS
0.52 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
10 September 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
21.88

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object Potentially Hazardous Asteroid

Close approaches 46 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2023 RC8 at 2033-09-01 18:12 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2033-09-01 18:12 UTC close approach of 2023 RC8. Catalogue miss distance 11.1 LD · 4.27 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2033-08-29 to 2033-09-04, 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 north of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 30 Aug 4 Sep 11.1 LD · 4.27 × 10⁶ km 2033-09-01 18:12 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2033-09-01 18:12 UTC close approach of 2023 RC8. Catalogue miss distance 11.1 LD · 4.27 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2033-08-29 to 2033-09-04, 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 north 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
2033-09-01 18:12:00 Earth 0.0285 AU 11.1 LD 21.5 km/s
2043-09-04 18:47:00 Earth 0.1302 AU 50.7 LD 25.8 km/s
2046-09-02 21:55:00 Earth 0.0981 AU 38.2 LD 19.8 km/s
2056-09-02 04:01:00 Earth 0.0454 AU 17.7 LD 23.1 km/s
2059-09-05 22:41:00 Earth 0.1629 AU 63.4 LD 18.8 km/s
2069-09-01 23:00:00 Earth 0.0364 AU 14.2 LD 21.3 km/s
2079-09-04 14:49:00 Earth 0.1166 AU 45.4 LD 25.4 km/s
2082-09-03 10:14:00 Earth 0.11 AU 42.8 LD 19.6 km/s
2092-09-02 03:12:00 Earth 0.0312 AU 12.2 LD 22.7 km/s
2095-09-06 18:26:00 Earth 0.1735 AU 67.5 LD 18.7 km/s

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

Sources