Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2026 AD

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2026 AD)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.085 AU
True anomaly
176.24°
Distance from Earth
0.79 AU
As of
21 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 — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth 2026 AD — 1.085 AU from the Sun 2026 AD
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2026 AD is 0.79 AU from Earth today (6.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 27m 49s
Declination
+27° 59′ 26″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
0.79 AU
Elongation from the Sun
74.01° — 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
0.924 AU
Eccentricity
0.1749
Inclination
16.32°
Orbital period
324.5 days
Perihelion
0.763 AU
Aphelion
1.086 AU
Longitude of ascending node
284.92°
Argument of periapsis
329.71°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 25.8 LD
0.0663 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.427

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
29
Data arc
11 days
First observed
7 January 2026
Last observed
18 January 2026
Residual RMS
0.44 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
18 January 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 54 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2026 AD at 2034-01-03 12:30 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2034-01-03 12:30 UTC close approach of 2026 AD. Catalogue miss distance 39.6 LD · 1.52 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2033-12-31 to 2034-01-06, 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 39.6 LD · 1.52 × 10⁷ km 2034-01-03 12:30 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2034-01-03 12:30 UTC close approach of 2026 AD. Catalogue miss distance 39.6 LD · 1.52 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2033-12-31 to 2034-01-06, 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
2029-01-29 04:53:00 Venus 0.0469 AU 18.3 LD 12.2 km/s
2034-01-03 12:30:00 Earth 0.1017 AU 39.6 LD 8.9 km/s
2037-01-27 23:19:00 Venus 0.0526 AU 20.5 LD 12.1 km/s
2042-01-06 02:33:00 Earth 0.0849 AU 33.0 LD 9 km/s
2045-01-26 15:27:00 Venus 0.0652 AU 25.4 LD 12.1 km/s
2050-01-08 20:40:00 Earth 0.0699 AU 27.2 LD 9.1 km/s
2053-01-25 02:52:00 Venus 0.0905 AU 35.2 LD 12.2 km/s
2058-01-11 18:48:00 Earth 0.0673 AU 26.2 LD 9.5 km/s
2061-01-23 07:17:00 Venus 0.1364 AU 53.1 LD 12.6 km/s
2066-01-14 19:55:00 Earth 0.1012 AU 39.4 LD 10.3 km/s

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

Sources