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Asteroid Near-Earth

2024 MC

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(2024 MC)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.845 AU
True anomaly
245.02°
Distance from Earth
1.108 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 MC — 0.845 AU from the Sun 2024 MC
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2024 MC is 1.108 AU from Earth today (9.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
16h 38m 30s
Declination
-06° 41′ 12″
Constellation
Ophiuchus
Distance from Earth
1.1 AU
Elongation from the Sun
46.87° — 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
0.811 AU
Eccentricity
0.2979
Inclination
28.05°
Orbital period
266.8 days
Perihelion
0.569 AU
Aphelion
1.053 AU
Longitude of ascending node
268.17°
Argument of periapsis
161.43°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 5.1 LD
0.0132 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.081

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 4).

Observations used
61
Data arc
7 days
First observed
17 June 2024
Last observed
24 June 2024
Residual RMS
0.41 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
28 June 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.01

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 164 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2024 MC at 2026-12-25 09:26 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-12-25 09:26 UTC close approach of 2024 MC. Catalogue miss distance 157.1 LD · 6.04 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-12-22 to 2026-12-28, 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 157.1 LD · 6.04 × 10⁷ km 2026-12-25 09:26 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-12-25 09:26 UTC close approach of 2024 MC. Catalogue miss distance 157.1 LD · 6.04 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-12-22 to 2026-12-28, 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
2026-12-25 09:26:00 Earth 0.4038 AU 157.1 LD 22.6 km/s
2027-06-13 23:40:00 Earth 0.4337 AU 168.8 LD 23 km/s
2029-11-10 01:42:00 Earth 0.4781 AU 186.1 LD 21.3 km/s
2032-06-16 16:07:00 Earth 0.1647 AU 64.1 LD 14 km/s
2035-01-14 02:05:00 Earth 0.408 AU 158.8 LD 21.5 km/s
2035-06-18 19:08:00 Earth 0.2464 AU 95.9 LD 18.2 km/s
2037-11-30 13:58:00 Earth 0.4358 AU 169.6 LD 22.7 km/s
2040-06-11 00:04:00 Earth 0.3345 AU 130.2 LD 16 km/s
2043-02-04 17:57:00 Earth 0.4375 AU 170.3 LD 19.2 km/s
2043-06-20 18:48:00 Earth 0.061 AU 23.7 LD 14.9 km/s

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

Sources