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Asteroid Near-Earth

2026 EC

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(2026 EC)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.569 AU
True anomaly
301.51°
Distance from Earth
0.841 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 EC — 0.569 AU from the Sun 2026 EC
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2026 EC is 0.841 AU from Earth today (7.0 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
16h 02m 32s
Declination
-23° 40′ 38″
Constellation
Scorpius
Distance from Earth
0.83 AU
Elongation from the Sun
34.63° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

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
0.917 AU
Eccentricity
0.4746
Inclination
19.8°
Orbital period
320.6 days
Perihelion
0.482 AU
Aphelion
1.352 AU
Longitude of ascending node
344°
Argument of periapsis
44.6°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 17.2 LD
0.0441 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.371

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
171
Data arc
7.07 years
First observed
1 March 2019
Last observed
25 March 2026
Residual RMS
0.37 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 May 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
22.79

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 51 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2026 EC at 2033-03-02 15:24 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2033-03-02 15:24 UTC close approach of 2026 EC. Catalogue miss distance 64.2 LD · 2.47 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2033-02-27 to 2033-03-05, 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 64.2 LD · 2.47 × 10⁷ km 2033-03-02 15:24 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2033-03-02 15:24 UTC close approach of 2026 EC. Catalogue miss distance 64.2 LD · 2.47 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2033-02-27 to 2033-03-05, 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
2028-07-17 18:42:00 Venus 0.1463 AU 56.9 LD 19 km/s
2033-03-02 15:24:00 Earth 0.1649 AU 64.2 LD 20.8 km/s
2034-09-07 06:07:00 Venus 0.1295 AU 50.4 LD 19.8 km/s
2040-10-28 12:26:00 Venus 0.1256 AU 48.9 LD 21 km/s
2046-12-20 01:10:00 Venus 0.1371 AU 53.3 LD 22.6 km/s
2055-02-28 23:18:00 Earth 0.1586 AU 61.7 LD 13.6 km/s
2062-02-26 20:49:00 Earth 0.0589 AU 22.9 LD 15.6 km/s
2069-02-28 06:05:00 Earth 0.0805 AU 31.3 LD 18.3 km/s
2074-05-10 12:29:00 Venus 0.135 AU 52.5 LD 22.1 km/s
2076-03-03 16:32:00 Earth 0.1966 AU 76.5 LD 21.8 km/s

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

Sources