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Asteroid Near-Earth

2023 XJ2

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(2023 XJ2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.977 AU
True anomaly
151.98°
Distance from Earth
0.746 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 XJ2 — 0.977 AU from the Sun 2023 XJ2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2023 XJ2 is 0.746 AU from Earth today (6.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 19m 06s
Declination
+15° 15′ 46″
Constellation
Cancer
Distance from Earth
0.75 AU
Elongation from the Sun
66.55° — 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
0.803 AU
Eccentricity
0.2689
Inclination
4.15°
Orbital period
262.8 days
Perihelion
0.587 AU
Aphelion
1.019 AU
Longitude of ascending node
72.09°
Argument of periapsis
203.67°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 0.4 LD
0.001 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.234

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
375
Data arc
65 days
First observed
5 December 2023
Last observed
8 February 2024
Residual RMS
0.35 ″
Solution · Giorgini
8 July 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.3

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 135 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2023 XJ2 at 2028-11-28 19:46 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-11-28 19:46 UTC close approach of 2023 XJ2. Catalogue miss distance 78.5 LD · 3.02 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-11-25 to 2028-12-01, 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. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 78.5 LD · 3.02 × 10⁷ km 2028-11-28 19:46 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-11-28 19:46 UTC close approach of 2023 XJ2. Catalogue miss distance 78.5 LD · 3.02 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-11-25 to 2028-12-01, 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. 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
2027-04-09 16:25:00 Venus 0.1319 AU 51.3 LD 8.4 km/s
2028-11-28 19:46:00 Earth 0.2018 AU 78.5 LD 12.8 km/s
2029-04-23 18:48:00 Earth 0.3482 AU 135.5 LD 9.5 km/s
2031-08-16 06:24:00 Earth 0.3871 AU 150.6 LD 11.5 km/s
2031-08-19 15:54:00 Venus 0.0969 AU 37.7 LD 6.5 km/s
2032-01-22 01:48:00 Earth 0.3303 AU 128.6 LD 16.7 km/s
2033-12-06 07:37:00 Earth 0.4197 AU 163.3 LD 20 km/s
2034-05-22 22:52:00 Earth 0.4028 AU 156.8 LD 13 km/s
2035-12-25 19:33:00 Venus 0.0306 AU 11.9 LD 8 km/s
2036-09-16 14:15:00 Earth 0.3161 AU 123.0 LD 6.9 km/s

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

Sources