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Asteroid Near-Earth

2026 DC3

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(2026 DC3)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.039 AU
True anomaly
138.88°
Distance from Earth
0.884 AU
As of
22 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 DC3 — 1.039 AU from the Sun 2026 DC3
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2026 DC3 is 0.884 AU from Earth today (7.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 12m 34s
Declination
+45° 02′ 16″
Constellation
Ursa Major
Distance from Earth
0.88 AU
Elongation from the Sun
66.92° — 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
0.955 AU
Eccentricity
0.1272
Inclination
30.46°
Orbital period
340.9 days
Perihelion
0.833 AU
Aphelion
1.076 AU
Longitude of ascending node
335.26°
Argument of periapsis
317.96°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 18.3 LD
0.047 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.181

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
65
Data arc
22 days
First observed
20 February 2026
Last observed
14 March 2026
Residual RMS
0.45 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
14 March 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
22.58

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 31 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2026 DC3 at 2040-02-25 08:29 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2040-02-25 08:29 UTC close approach of 2026 DC3. Catalogue miss distance 27.3 LD · 1.05 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2040-02-22 to 2040-02-28, 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. Sun 27.3 LD · 1.05 × 10⁷ km 2040-02-25 08:29 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2040-02-25 08:29 UTC close approach of 2026 DC3. Catalogue miss distance 27.3 LD · 1.05 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2040-02-22 to 2040-02-28, 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.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2040-02-25 08:29:00 Earth 0.0701 AU 27.3 LD 16.1 km/s
2041-06-20 13:42:00 Venus 0.1223 AU 47.6 LD 18.7 km/s
2054-02-24 11:53:00 Earth 0.1059 AU 41.2 LD 16.5 km/s
2068-02-24 10:23:00 Earth 0.152 AU 59.1 LD 17.1 km/s
2081-02-25 08:27:00 Earth 0.1855 AU 72.2 LD 15.5 km/s
2095-02-26 01:03:00 Earth 0.1396 AU 54.3 LD 15.4 km/s
2109-02-26 13:29:00 Earth 0.0938 AU 36.5 LD 15.4 km/s
2123-02-27 01:15:00 Earth 0.0735 AU 28.6 LD 15.4 km/s
2126-05-15 03:49:00 Venus 0.1359 AU 52.9 LD 18.5 km/s
2128-03-19 06:50:00 Venus 0.1456 AU 56.6 LD 19.3 km/s

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

Sources