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Asteroid Near-Earth

2024 VW2

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(2024 VW2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.909 AU
True anomaly
131.68°
Distance from Earth
0.457 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 VW2 — 0.909 AU from the Sun 2024 VW2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2024 VW2 is 0.457 AU from Earth today (3.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
17h 51m 21s
Declination
-43° 14′ 20″
Constellation
Scorpius
Distance from Earth
0.46 AU
Elongation from the Sun
66.02° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

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
0.794 AU
Eccentricity
0.3953
Inclination
10.77°
Orbital period
258.4 days
Perihelion
0.48 AU
Aphelion
1.108 AU
Longitude of ascending node
63.22°
Argument of periapsis
162.56°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 20.2 LD
0.0518 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.259

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
27
Data arc
20 days
First observed
9 November 2024
Last observed
29 November 2024
Residual RMS
0.49 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
29 November 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.55

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 57 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2024 VW2 at 2029-12-11 18:03 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-12-11 18:03 UTC close approach of 2024 VW2. Catalogue miss distance 45.5 LD · 1.75 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-12-08 to 2029-12-14, 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 north of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 45.5 LD · 1.75 × 10⁷ km 2029-12-11 18:03 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-12-11 18:03 UTC close approach of 2024 VW2. Catalogue miss distance 45.5 LD · 1.75 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-12-08 to 2029-12-14, 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 north 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
2029-12-11 18:03:00 Earth 0.117 AU 45.5 LD 13.7 km/s
2030-01-16 09:34:00 Venus 0.1018 AU 39.6 LD 16.8 km/s
2032-12-31 20:38:00 Merc 0.043 AU 16.7 LD 14.3 km/s
2033-09-07 03:24:00 Mercury 0.0783 AU 30.5 LD 16.6 km/s
2033-09-07 03:24:00 Merc 0.0783 AU 30.5 LD 16.6 km/s
2036-10-31 01:31:00 Earth 0.1367 AU 53.2 LD 9.4 km/s
2040-11-11 04:50:00 Venus 0.138 AU 53.7 LD 19.1 km/s
2041-12-08 05:18:00 Earth 0.054 AU 21.0 LD 10.4 km/s
2044-03-10 06:29:00 Venus 0.1228 AU 47.8 LD 18.5 km/s
2048-10-13 13:07:00 Earth 0.1381 AU 53.8 LD 10.4 km/s

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

Sources