Skip to content
Public Universe
Centaur

2023 XM5

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2023 XM5)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
5.49 AU
True anomaly
61.61°
Distance from Earth
5.807 AU
As of
11 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.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth 2023 XM5 — 5.49 AU from the Sun 2023 XM5
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2023 XM5 is 5.807 AU from Earth today (48.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 12m 03s
Declination
+27° 23′ 52″
Constellation
Cancer
Distance from Earth
5.8 AU
Elongation from the Sun
67.4° — 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
6.49 AU
Eccentricity
0.2399
Inclination
36.87°
Orbital period
16.53 years
Perihelion
4.933 AU
Aphelion
8.047 AU
Longitude of ascending node
106.89°
Argument of periapsis
317.43°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · CEN
Centaur
Earth MOID · 1,567.3 LD
4.0274 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.537

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
32
Data arc
398 days
First observed
24 November 2023
Last observed
26 December 2024
Residual RMS
0.8 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
27 December 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
14.38

Discovery & classification

Centaur

Close approaches 6 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2108-09-17 03:34:00 Juptr 0.8897 AU 346.3 LD 8.4 km/s

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

Sources