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Asteroid Near-Earth

2024 BU2

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(2024 BU2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.033 AU
True anomaly
163.44°
Distance from Earth
1.545 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 2024 BU2 — 1.033 AU from the Sun 2024 BU2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2024 BU2 is 1.545 AU from Earth today (12.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
10h 59m 03s
Declination
+09° 12′ 41″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
1.54 AU
Elongation from the Sun
41.39° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
0.776 AU
Eccentricity
0.363
Inclination
6.84°
Orbital period
249.7 days
Perihelion
0.494 AU
Aphelion
1.058 AU
Longitude of ascending node
89.81°
Argument of periapsis
229.45°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 14.1 LD
0.0361 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.419

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
44
Data arc
22 days
First observed
22 January 2024
Last observed
13 February 2024
Residual RMS
0.48 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
13 February 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
23.18

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 182 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2024 BU2 at 2028-01-20 00:19 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-01-20 00:19 UTC close approach of 2024 BU2. Catalogue miss distance 190.6 LD · 7.33 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-01-17 to 2028-01-23, 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 190.6 LD · 7.33 × 10⁷ km 2028-01-20 00:19 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-01-20 00:19 UTC close approach of 2024 BU2. Catalogue miss distance 190.6 LD · 7.33 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-01-17 to 2028-01-23, 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
2027-10-17 13:20:00 Venus 0.1464 AU 57.0 LD 8.2 km/s
2028-01-20 00:19:00 Earth 0.4897 AU 190.6 LD 25.3 km/s
2029-11-28 12:28:00 Merc 0.0768 AU 29.9 LD 8.9 km/s
2029-11-28 12:28:00 Mercury 0.0768 AU 29.9 LD 8.9 km/s
2033-03-01 01:01:00 Earth 0.4391 AU 170.9 LD 22.8 km/s
2034-10-16 04:23:00 Earth 0.4258 AU 165.7 LD 12.1 km/s
2035-03-10 23:22:00 Earth 0.1719 AU 66.9 LD 12.7 km/s
2039-01-07 05:20:00 Earth 0.1449 AU 56.4 LD 13.7 km/s
2039-06-04 20:35:00 Earth 0.4263 AU 165.9 LD 12.9 km/s
2041-01-17 09:39:00 Earth 0.4446 AU 173.0 LD 23.7 km/s

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

Sources