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Asteroid Near-Earth

2023 VA7

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(2023 VA7)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.036 AU
True anomaly
179.13°
Distance from Earth
0.81 AU
As of
16 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 VA7 — 1.036 AU from the Sun 2023 VA7
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2023 VA7 is 0.81 AU from Earth today (6.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 11m 57s
Declination
+18° 33′ 39″
Constellation
Cancer
Distance from Earth
0.81 AU
Elongation from the Sun
69.15° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
0.798 AU
Eccentricity
0.2973
Inclination
3.71°
Orbital period
260.5 days
Perihelion
0.561 AU
Aphelion
1.036 AU
Longitude of ascending node
42.23°
Argument of periapsis
208.94°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 1.0 LD
0.0027 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.264

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
45
Data arc
29 days
First observed
11 November 2023
Last observed
10 December 2023
Residual RMS
0.37 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
29 January 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
27.17

Discovery & classification

Listed by JPL impact monitoring; see the Sentry table for current probabilities.

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 42 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2023 VA7 at 2028-11-12 02:04 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-11-12 02:04 UTC close approach of 2023 VA7. Catalogue miss distance 11.2 LD · 4.3 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-11-09 to 2028-11-15, 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 11.2 LD · 4.3 × 10⁶ km 2028-11-12 02:04 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-11-12 02:04 UTC close approach of 2023 VA7. Catalogue miss distance 11.2 LD · 4.3 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-11-09 to 2028-11-15, 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
2027-01-16 00:39:00 Venus 0.0283 AU 11.0 LD 9.2 km/s
2027-12-22 00:59:00 Venus 0.129 AU 50.2 LD 16.8 km/s
2028-11-12 02:04:00 Earth 0.0288 AU 11.2 LD 6.3 km/s
2031-04-29 20:44:00 Venus 0.1492 AU 58.1 LD 17.9 km/s
2031-06-10 22:50:00 Earth 0.4542 AU 176.8 LD 16 km/s
2032-04-02 18:25:00 Venus 0.0555 AU 21.6 LD 8 km/s
2033-11-22 11:34:00 Earth 0.0501 AU 19.5 LD 6 km/s
2036-06-03 18:15:00 Earth 0.455 AU 177.1 LD 16.1 km/s
2038-12-11 20:06:00 Earth 0.0605 AU 23.5 LD 5.9 km/s
2040-08-18 20:51:00 Venus 0.1224 AU 47.6 LD 7.5 km/s

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

Sources