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Asteroid Near-Earth

2024 WQ4

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(2024 WQ4)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.801 AU
True anomaly
246.44°
Distance from Earth
1.662 AU
As of
19 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 — 0.996 AU from the Sun Earth 2024 WQ4 — 0.801 AU from the Sun 2024 WQ4
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2024 WQ4 is 1.662 AU from Earth today (13.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 19m 52s
Declination
-05° 41′ 31″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.66 AU
Elongation from the Sun
19.88° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
0.824 AU
Eccentricity
0.4502
Inclination
7°
Orbital period
273.1 days
Perihelion
0.453 AU
Aphelion
1.195 AU
Longitude of ascending node
237.11°
Argument of periapsis
38.16°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 2.8 LD
0.0072 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.022

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
15
Data arc
6 days
First observed
21 November 2024
Last observed
27 November 2024
Residual RMS
0.62 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
28 November 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
27.25

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 150 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2024 WQ4 at 2027-11-17 20:02 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-11-17 20:02 UTC close approach of 2024 WQ4. Catalogue miss distance 20.8 LD · 7.99 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-11-14 to 2027-11-20, 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 20.8 LD · 7.99 × 10⁶ km 2027-11-17 20:02 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-11-17 20:02 UTC close approach of 2024 WQ4. Catalogue miss distance 20.8 LD · 7.99 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-11-14 to 2027-11-20, 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
2027-11-17 20:02:00 Earth 0.0534 AU 20.8 LD 11.7 km/s
2029-02-27 04:16:00 Mercury 0.0734 AU 28.6 LD 16.9 km/s
2029-02-27 04:16:00 Merc 0.0734 AU 28.6 LD 16.9 km/s
2030-11-21 08:09:00 Earth 0.1062 AU 41.3 LD 10.6 km/s
2033-11-27 21:15:00 Earth 0.1522 AU 59.2 LD 10.1 km/s
2035-01-19 07:04:00 Venus 0.1385 AU 53.9 LD 20.3 km/s
2035-11-12 12:28:00 Mercury 0.0677 AU 26.3 LD 25 km/s
2035-11-12 12:28:00 Merc 0.0677 AU 26.3 LD 25 km/s
2036-12-06 05:19:00 Earth 0.1883 AU 73.3 LD 10.1 km/s
2043-05-03 12:50:00 Mercury 0.035 AU 13.6 LD 21.8 km/s

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

Sources