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Centaur

2015 HQ397

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(2015 HQ397)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
5.848 AU
True anomaly
257.59°
Distance from Earth
5.844 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 2015 HQ397 — 5.848 AU from the Sun 2015 HQ397
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2015 HQ397 is 5.844 AU from Earth today (48.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
07h 36m 35s
Declination
+16° 41′ 58″
Constellation
Gemini
Distance from Earth
5.83 AU
Elongation from the Sun
85.9° — 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
5.926 AU
Eccentricity
0.2623
Inclination
4.92°
Orbital period
14.43 years
Perihelion
4.372 AU
Aphelion
7.48 AU
Longitude of ascending node
205.46°
Argument of periapsis
0.27°
Epoch · J2000
2457132.5
Orbit class · CEN
Centaur
Earth MOID · 1,310.8 LD
3.3683 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.93

Orbit quality

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

Observations used
18
Data arc
4 days
First observed
18 April 2015
Last observed
22 April 2015
Residual RMS
0.06 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
1 August 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
16.65

Discovery & classification

Centaur

Sources