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Centaur

2014 EL278

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(2014 EL278)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
4.554 AU
True anomaly
21.59°
Distance from Earth
5.096 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 2014 EL278 — 4.554 AU from the Sun 2014 EL278
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2014 EL278 is 5.096 AU from Earth today (42.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 55m 39s
Declination
+13° 49′ 35″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
5.09 AU
Elongation from the Sun
52.9° — 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
5.639 AU
Eccentricity
0.2018
Inclination
7.01°
Orbital period
13.39 years
Perihelion
4.501 AU
Aphelion
6.777 AU
Longitude of ascending node
326.57°
Argument of periapsis
147.89°
Epoch · J2000
2456719.5
Orbit class · CEN
Centaur
Earth MOID · 1,369.6 LD
3.5194 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.947

Orbit quality

Orbit very uncertain — the object may be effectively lost (uncertainty code 9).

Observations used
9
Data arc
4 days
First observed
1 March 2014
Last observed
5 March 2014
Residual RMS
0.19 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
20 June 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
16.48

Discovery & classification

Centaur

Sources