2026 AW2 is an asteroid in the Aten orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.93 AU to 1.06 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 361.2 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 6 May 2026.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 0.935 AU
- True anomaly
- 32.01°
- Distance from Earth
- 0.372 AU
- As of
- 2 November 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.
In the sky
- Right ascension
- 16h 00m 21s
- Declination
- +52° 44′ 51″
- Constellation
- Draco
- Distance from Earth
- 0.37 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 70.38° — 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.
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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
- 0.993 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.0675
- Inclination
- 23.01°
- Orbital period
- 361.2 days
- Perihelion
- 0.926 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.059 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 293.63°
- Argument of periapsis
- 74.96°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · ATE
- Aten
- Earth MOID · 8.4 LD
- 0.0216 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 6.045
Orbit quality
Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).
- Observations used
- 116
- Data arc
- 24 days
- First observed
- 13 January 2026
- Last observed
- 6 February 2026
- Residual RMS
- 0.41 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 6 May 2026
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 24.31
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 33 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-01-13 05:54 UTC close approach of 2026 AW2. Catalogue miss distance 26.5 LD · 1.02 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-01-10 to 2027-01-16, 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 south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.
| When (UTC) | Body | Distance | Lunar distances | Relative speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2027-01-13 05:54:00 | Earth | 0.0682 AU | 26.5 LD | 11.9 km/s |
| 2027-07-24 10:35:00 | Earth | 0.1448 AU | 56.3 LD | 12.2 km/s |
| 2028-01-12 23:51:00 | Earth | 0.1364 AU | 53.1 LD | 12.1 km/s |
| 2028-07-19 05:52:00 | Earth | 0.082 AU | 31.9 LD | 12 km/s |
| 2029-07-15 05:19:00 | Earth | 0.0462 AU | 18.0 LD | 12.1 km/s |
| 2030-07-11 04:13:00 | Earth | 0.0842 AU | 32.8 LD | 12.6 km/s |
| 2031-07-07 00:02:00 | Earth | 0.1509 AU | 58.7 LD | 13.4 km/s |
| 2100-01-17 09:05:00 | Earth | 0.1767 AU | 68.8 LD | 13.9 km/s |
| 2101-01-16 04:31:00 | Earth | 0.1017 AU | 39.6 LD | 12.9 km/s |
| 2102-01-15 06:15:00 | Earth | 0.0344 AU | 13.4 LD | 12.2 km/s |
Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.
Sources
- visual properties: JPL SBDB (lookup)
- orbital elements: JPL SBDB