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Asteroid Near-Earth

2023 WF3

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(2023 WF3)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.108 AU
True anomaly
166.88°
Distance from Earth
0.938 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 WF3 — 1.108 AU from the Sun 2023 WF3
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2023 WF3 is 0.938 AU from Earth today (7.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 11m 34s
Declination
+20° 52′ 49″
Constellation
Cancer
Distance from Earth
0.94 AU
Elongation from the Sun
69.97° — 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
0.797 AU
Eccentricity
0.4157
Inclination
14.92°
Orbital period
259.9 days
Perihelion
0.466 AU
Aphelion
1.128 AU
Longitude of ascending node
62°
Argument of periapsis
207.51°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 13.0 LD
0.0335 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.217

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
18
Data arc
18 days
First observed
23 November 2023
Last observed
11 December 2023
Residual RMS
0.67 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
12 December 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.78

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 46 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2023 WF3 at 2028-12-05 08:10 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-12-05 08:10 UTC close approach of 2023 WF3. Catalogue miss distance 62.0 LD · 2.38 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-12-02 to 2028-12-08, 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 62.0 LD · 2.38 × 10⁷ km 2028-12-05 08:10 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-12-05 08:10 UTC close approach of 2023 WF3. Catalogue miss distance 62.0 LD · 2.38 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-12-02 to 2028-12-08, 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
2028-01-09 23:13:00 Venus 0.1202 AU 46.8 LD 18.8 km/s
2028-12-05 08:10:00 Earth 0.1593 AU 62.0 LD 10.7 km/s
2029-03-31 15:06:00 Earth 0.4194 AU 163.2 LD 12.9 km/s
2035-11-28 09:47:00 Earth 0.4377 AU 170.4 LD 26.3 km/s
2040-01-09 04:50:00 Mercury 0.0903 AU 35.1 LD 21.6 km/s
2040-01-09 04:50:00 Merc 0.0903 AU 35.1 LD 21.6 km/s
2040-11-23 12:48:00 Earth 0.3271 AU 127.3 LD 22.6 km/s
2041-07-21 04:28:00 Venus 0.1119 AU 43.6 LD 13.9 km/s
2045-11-20 07:11:00 Earth 0.2168 AU 84.4 LD 19 km/s
2049-01-22 19:11:00 Earth 0.2604 AU 101.3 LD 14.8 km/s

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

Sources