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Asteroid Near-Earth

2026 BQ4

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(2026 BQ4)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.93 AU
True anomaly
206.91°
Distance from Earth
1.804 AU
As of
15 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 — 0.997 AU from the Sun Earth 2026 BQ4 — 0.93 AU from the Sun 2026 BQ4
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2026 BQ4 is 1.804 AU from Earth today (15.0 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 19m 47s
Declination
+02° 07′ 22″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.8 AU
Elongation from the Sun
19.85° — 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
0.683 AU
Eccentricity
0.5199
Inclination
12.87°
Orbital period
206.4 days
Perihelion
0.328 AU
Aphelion
1.039 AU
Longitude of ascending node
126.57°
Argument of periapsis
189.02°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 11.3 LD
0.0289 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
8.218

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
70
Data arc
20 days
First observed
20 January 2026
Last observed
9 February 2026
Residual RMS
0.42 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
10 February 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.3

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 55 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2026 BQ4 at 2030-02-16 19:41 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-02-16 19:41 UTC close approach of 2026 BQ4. Catalogue miss distance 36.1 LD · 1.39 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-02-13 to 2030-02-19, 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 14 Feb 36.1 LD · 1.39 × 10⁷ km 2030-02-16 19:41 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-02-16 19:41 UTC close approach of 2026 BQ4. Catalogue miss distance 36.1 LD · 1.39 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-02-13 to 2030-02-19, 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
2027-07-19 01:29:00 Merc 0.0586 AU 22.8 LD 34.4 km/s
2027-07-19 01:29:00 Mercury 0.0586 AU 22.8 LD 34.4 km/s
2030-02-16 19:41:00 Earth 0.0926 AU 36.1 LD 12.4 km/s
2031-05-19 14:00:00 Venus 0.1174 AU 45.7 LD 21.8 km/s
2035-01-17 01:30:00 Earth 0.1665 AU 64.8 LD 17.3 km/s
2038-02-24 14:41:00 Venus 0.1051 AU 40.9 LD 18.1 km/s
2039-01-26 08:41:00 Earth 0.0414 AU 16.1 LD 11.6 km/s
2042-03-26 05:03:00 Mercury 0.0248 AU 9.7 LD 28.2 km/s
2042-03-26 05:03:00 Merc 0.0248 AU 9.7 LD 28.2 km/s
2042-11-24 08:21:00 Venus 0.1378 AU 53.6 LD 15.8 km/s

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

Sources