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Asteroid Near-Earth

2023 XK4

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(2023 XK4)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.756 AU
True anomaly
27.06°
Distance from Earth
1.653 AU
As of
20 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 — 0.996 AU from the Sun Earth 2023 XK4 — 0.756 AU from the Sun 2023 XK4
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2023 XK4 is 1.653 AU from Earth today (13.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 49m 30s
Declination
-15° 55′ 14″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
1.65 AU
Elongation from the Sun
16.89° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
0.89 AU
Eccentricity
0.1632
Inclination
1.49°
Orbital period
306.6 days
Perihelion
0.745 AU
Aphelion
1.035 AU
Longitude of ascending node
98.18°
Argument of periapsis
121.14°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 2.7 LD
0.007 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.663

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
45
Data arc
6 days
First observed
7 December 2023
Last observed
13 December 2023
Residual RMS
0.38 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
7 February 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
26.96

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 40 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2023 XK4 at 2028-09-24 19:18 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-09-24 19:18 UTC close approach of 2023 XK4. Catalogue miss distance 14.5 LD · 5.56 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-09-21 to 2028-09-27, 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. Sun 14.5 LD · 5.56 × 10⁶ km 2028-09-24 19:18 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-09-24 19:18 UTC close approach of 2023 XK4. Catalogue miss distance 14.5 LD · 5.56 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-09-21 to 2028-09-27, 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
2028-09-24 19:18:00 Earth 0.0372 AU 14.5 LD 4.9 km/s
2029-02-25 19:17:00 Earth 0.194 AU 75.5 LD 4.6 km/s
2033-09-30 04:08:00 Earth 0.3226 AU 125.5 LD 14.1 km/s
2034-04-26 01:09:00 Earth 0.2598 AU 101.1 LD 7.6 km/s
2034-12-06 14:19:00 Earth 0.4624 AU 180.0 LD 18.6 km/s
2039-06-18 06:57:00 Earth 0.2369 AU 92.2 LD 6.3 km/s
2039-12-18 07:38:00 Earth 0.1607 AU 62.5 LD 9.1 km/s
2041-11-27 13:24:00 Venus 0.0246 AU 9.6 LD 2.5 km/s
2044-10-30 14:11:00 Earth 0.0474 AU 18.4 LD 3.3 km/s
2049-09-25 22:13:00 Earth 0.1808 AU 70.3 LD 9.6 km/s

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

Sources