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Asteroid Near-Earth

2023 XH

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(2023 XH)

2023 XH is an asteroid in the Apollo orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.82 AU to 1.22 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 377.6 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 6 December 2023.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.184 AU
True anomaly
209.9°
Distance from Earth
0.506 AU
As of
3 November 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 — 0.992 AU from the Sun Earth 2023 XH — 1.184 AU from the Sun 2023 XH
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2023 XH is 0.506 AU from Earth today (4.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
21h 43m 50s
Declination
-21° 42′ 18″
Constellation
Capricornus
Distance from Earth
0.51 AU
Elongation from the Sun
98.93° — 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
1.022 AU
Eccentricity
0.1953
Inclination
4.19°
Orbital period
377.6 days
Perihelion
0.823 AU
Aphelion
1.222 AU
Longitude of ascending node
68.23°
Argument of periapsis
98.36°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · APO
Apollo
Earth MOID · 3.6 LD
0.0092 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
5.956

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
37
Data arc
24 days
First observed
11 November 2023
Last observed
5 December 2023
Residual RMS
0.62 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
6 December 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
26.69

Discovery & classification

Apollo Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 49 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2023 XH at 2027-06-12 19:44 UTC Sun 15.4 LD · 5.93 × 10⁶ km 2027-06-12 19:44 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-06-12 19:44 UTC close approach of 2023 XH. Catalogue miss distance 15.4 LD · 5.93 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-06-09 to 2027-06-15, 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 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
2027-06-12 19:44:00 Earth 0.0397 AU 15.4 LD 5.1 km/s
2028-04-17 18:39:00 Venus 0.1124 AU 43.7 LD 0.7 km/s
2028-06-23 12:11:00 Earth 0.1666 AU 64.8 LD 10.7 km/s
2029-07-03 04:38:00 Earth 0.364 AU 141.7 LD 16.5 km/s
2052-11-16 16:19:00 Earth 0.4671 AU 181.8 LD 20 km/s
2053-11-26 01:31:00 Earth 0.2631 AU 102.4 LD 13.8 km/s
2054-12-05 02:57:00 Earth 0.0583 AU 22.7 LD 7.7 km/s
2055-11-17 04:43:00 Earth 0.1334 AU 51.9 LD 3.9 km/s
2056-01-13 21:38:00 Earth 0.1349 AU 52.5 LD 4 km/s
2056-10-01 04:38:00 Earth 0.2168 AU 84.4 LD 5.3 km/s

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

Sources