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Centaur

2021 AM38

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(2021 AM38)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
8.397 AU
True anomaly
165.8°
Distance from Earth
7.942 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 2021 AM38 — 8.397 AU from the Sun 2021 AM38
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 AM38 is 7.942 AU from Earth today (1.1 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
21h 01m 30s
Declination
-18° 57′ 37″
Constellation
Capricornus
Distance from Earth
7.95 AU
Elongation from the Sun
113.24° — 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
5.811 AU
Eccentricity
0.487
Inclination
11.81°
Orbital period
14.01 years
Perihelion
2.981 AU
Aphelion
8.64 AU
Longitude of ascending node
129.78°
Argument of periapsis
23.19°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · CEN
Centaur
Earth MOID · 777.1 LD
1.9967 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.702

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 4).

Observations used
15
Data arc
62 days
First observed
15 January 2021
Last observed
18 March 2021
Residual RMS
0.57 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
17 September 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
16.93

Discovery & classification

Centaur

Close approaches 8 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2047-09-14 19:24:00 Juptr 1.2891 AU 501.7 LD 9.7 km/s
2079-02-14 22:10:00 Juptr 1.0626 AU 413.5 LD 9.3 km/s
2111-11-20 06:50:00 Satrn 1.907 AU 742.2 LD 3.9 km/s
2141-04-12 14:59:00 Satrn 1.4427 AU 561.4 LD 3 km/s
2170-11-08 08:54:00 Satrn 1.3093 AU 509.5 LD 2.4 km/s
2191-04-11 21:24:00 Juptr 1.2853 AU 500.2 LD 5.2 km/s
2200-03-04 22:58:00 Satrn 1.2283 AU 478.0 LD 2.4 km/s

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

Sources