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Asteroid Near-Earth

2026 AF2

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(2026 AF2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.974 AU
True anomaly
135.2°
Distance from Earth
1.189 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 2026 AF2 — 0.974 AU from the Sun 2026 AF2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2026 AF2 is 1.189 AU from Earth today (9.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
10h 31m 08s
Declination
+11° 49′ 43″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
1.19 AU
Elongation from the Sun
52.19° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
0.861 AU
Eccentricity
0.2271
Inclination
12.82°
Orbital period
292 days
Perihelion
0.666 AU
Aphelion
1.057 AU
Longitude of ascending node
294.01°
Argument of periapsis
31.02°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 9.8 LD
0.0252 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.813

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
26
Data arc
9 days
First observed
13 January 2026
Last observed
22 January 2026
Residual RMS
0.34 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
22 January 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
26.78

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 25 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2026 AF2 at 2030-01-11 18:21 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-01-11 18:21 UTC close approach of 2026 AF2. Catalogue miss distance 10.8 LD · 4.15 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-01-08 to 2030-01-14, 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 10.8 LD · 4.15 × 10⁶ km 2030-01-11 18:21 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-01-11 18:21 UTC close approach of 2026 AF2. Catalogue miss distance 10.8 LD · 4.15 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-01-08 to 2030-01-14, 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
2029-09-02 18:13:00 Venus 0.1464 AU 57.0 LD 16.1 km/s
2030-01-11 18:21:00 Earth 0.0277 AU 10.8 LD 8.2 km/s
2034-01-14 07:28:00 Earth 0.045 AU 17.5 LD 7.9 km/s
2038-01-19 01:10:00 Earth 0.0756 AU 29.4 LD 7.6 km/s
2093-01-07 13:17:00 Earth 0.172 AU 66.9 LD 12.5 km/s
2094-04-29 23:13:00 Venus 0.0929 AU 36.1 LD 11 km/s
2097-01-07 02:38:00 Earth 0.1201 AU 46.7 LD 11 km/s
2101-01-08 10:19:00 Earth 0.0804 AU 31.3 LD 10 km/s
2102-04-19 23:53:00 Venus 0.0325 AU 12.6 LD 11.6 km/s
2105-01-08 19:49:00 Earth 0.0606 AU 23.6 LD 9.5 km/s

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

Sources