Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2026 EP1

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2026 EP1)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.78 AU
True anomaly
350.84°
Distance from Earth
0.281 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 EP1 — 0.78 AU from the Sun 2026 EP1
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2026 EP1 is 0.281 AU from Earth today (2.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 35m 22s
Declination
-27° 42′ 39″
Constellation
Hydra
Distance from Earth
0.29 AU
Elongation from the Sun
35.34° — 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
0.933 AU
Eccentricity
0.1648
Inclination
13.24°
Orbital period
329 days
Perihelion
0.779 AU
Aphelion
1.086 AU
Longitude of ascending node
169.49°
Argument of periapsis
235.64°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 2.5 LD
0.0064 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.392

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
95
Data arc
9 days
First observed
9 March 2026
Last observed
18 March 2026
Residual RMS
0.4 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
23 August 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
27.04

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 50 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2026 EP1 at 2035-03-09 19:11 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2035-03-09 19:11 UTC close approach of 2026 EP1. Catalogue miss distance 10.0 LD · 3.86 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2035-03-06 to 2035-03-12, 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. The path is approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. approximate Sun 10.0 LD · 3.86 × 10⁶ km 2035-03-09 19:11 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2035-03-09 19:11 UTC close approach of 2026 EP1. Catalogue miss distance 10.0 LD · 3.86 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2035-03-06 to 2035-03-12, 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. The path is approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2035-03-09 19:11:00 Earth 0.0258 AU 10.0 LD 8.3 km/s
2038-06-19 03:48:00 Venus 0.0904 AU 35.2 LD 8.5 km/s
2044-03-12 10:09:00 Earth 0.199 AU 77.4 LD 12.2 km/s
2051-12-28 15:19:00 Venus 0.1353 AU 52.6 LD 8.4 km/s
2054-03-31 14:23:00 Earth 0.1974 AU 76.8 LD 7.1 km/s
2054-08-20 15:02:00 Earth 0.1549 AU 60.3 LD 8.6 km/s
2063-03-10 18:46:00 Earth 0.0451 AU 17.5 LD 7.4 km/s
2063-09-17 11:20:00 Earth 0.1869 AU 72.7 LD 8.8 km/s
2072-03-09 07:21:00 Earth 0.0651 AU 25.3 LD 9.1 km/s
2082-07-28 06:49:00 Earth 0.1986 AU 77.3 LD 9.7 km/s

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

Sources