Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2026 KA3

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2026 KA3)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.953 AU
True anomaly
106.03°
Distance from Earth
1.266 AU
As of
24 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 — 0.994 AU from the Sun Earth 2026 KA3 — 0.953 AU from the Sun 2026 KA3
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2026 KA3 is 1.266 AU from Earth today (10.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
10h 54m 49s
Declination
+04° 13′ 29″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
1.27 AU
Elongation from the Sun
48.06° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
0.967 AU
Eccentricity
0.3179
Inclination
3.79°
Orbital period
347.3 days
Perihelion
0.66 AU
Aphelion
1.274 AU
Longitude of ascending node
231.02°
Argument of periapsis
135.36°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 8.2 LD
0.0211 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.197

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
45
Data arc
11 days
First observed
19 May 2026
Last observed
30 May 2026
Residual RMS
0.31 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
30 May 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.69

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 46 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2026 KA3 at 2042-01-16 12:46 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2042-01-16 12:46 UTC close approach of 2026 KA3. Catalogue miss distance 28.0 LD · 1.07 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2042-01-13 to 2042-01-19, 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 south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 28.0 LD · 1.07 × 10⁷ km 2042-01-16 12:46 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2042-01-16 12:46 UTC close approach of 2026 KA3. Catalogue miss distance 28.0 LD · 1.07 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2042-01-13 to 2042-01-19, 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 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
2030-05-07 06:37:00 Venus 0.1176 AU 45.8 LD 13.2 km/s
2032-05-29 08:00:00 Venus 0.0599 AU 23.3 LD 12.5 km/s
2040-10-22 18:29:00 Venus 0.1003 AU 39.1 LD 11.9 km/s
2042-01-16 12:46:00 Earth 0.0718 AU 28.0 LD 8.4 km/s
2042-11-15 03:37:00 Venus 0.0918 AU 35.7 LD 14 km/s
2045-05-25 11:25:00 Earth 0.1282 AU 49.9 LD 6.6 km/s
2046-05-26 02:01:00 Earth 0.1643 AU 64.0 LD 14.5 km/s
2051-04-10 12:52:00 Venus 0.0878 AU 34.2 LD 10.5 km/s
2053-05-02 15:09:00 Venus 0.122 AU 47.5 LD 15.3 km/s
2061-01-20 13:49:00 Earth 0.1163 AU 45.3 LD 12.7 km/s

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

Sources