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Asteroid Near-Earth

2024 AF6

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(2024 AF6)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.541 AU
True anomaly
287.07°
Distance from Earth
1.494 AU
As of
15 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 2024 AF6 — 0.541 AU from the Sun 2024 AF6
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2024 AF6 is 1.494 AU from Earth today (12.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 08m 39s
Declination
-08° 40′ 17″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.48 AU
Elongation from the Sun
10.45° — too close to the Sun to observe

Visible from both hemispheres.

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
0.726 AU
Eccentricity
0.4073
Inclination
15.06°
Orbital period
225.7 days
Perihelion
0.43 AU
Aphelion
1.021 AU
Longitude of ascending node
183.09°
Argument of periapsis
119.88°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 51.8 LD
0.133 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.83

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
43
Data arc
51 days
First observed
13 January 2024
Last observed
4 March 2024
Residual RMS
0.33 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
4 March 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
20.67

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 204 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2024 AF6 at 2027-01-05 07:55 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-01-05 07:55 UTC close approach of 2024 AF6. Catalogue miss distance 178.5 LD · 6.86 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-01-02 to 2027-01-08, 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 south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 178.5 LD · 6.86 × 10⁷ km 2027-01-05 07:55 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-01-05 07:55 UTC close approach of 2024 AF6. Catalogue miss distance 178.5 LD · 6.86 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-01-02 to 2027-01-08, 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 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
2027-01-05 07:55:00 Earth 0.4586 AU 178.5 LD 22.4 km/s
2028-10-08 13:33:00 Earth 0.4557 AU 177.3 LD 16 km/s
2029-02-20 04:18:00 Earth 0.231 AU 89.9 LD 17.7 km/s
2031-12-26 20:42:00 Earth 0.2613 AU 101.7 LD 11.1 km/s
2036-11-02 06:16:00 Earth 0.3813 AU 148.4 LD 11.1 km/s
2037-02-26 17:06:00 Earth 0.1331 AU 51.8 LD 12.3 km/s
2039-12-30 14:54:00 Earth 0.3437 AU 133.8 LD 17.2 km/s
2040-05-10 01:15:00 Earth 0.4854 AU 188.9 LD 13.1 km/s
2042-02-13 17:50:00 Earth 0.3728 AU 145.1 LD 22.7 km/s
2045-02-21 20:30:00 Earth 0.2087 AU 81.2 LD 8.8 km/s

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

Sources