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Asteroid Near-Earth

2026 MC1

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(2026 MC1)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.05 AU
True anomaly
210.48°
Distance from Earth
1.026 AU
As of
16 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 MC1 — 1.05 AU from the Sun 2026 MC1
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2026 MC1 is 1.026 AU from Earth today (8.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
17h 35m 10s
Declination
+01° 01′ 45″
Constellation
Ophiuchus
Distance from Earth
1.03 AU
Elongation from the Sun
62.28° — well clear of the Sun

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
0.792 AU
Eccentricity
0.5784
Inclination
27.09°
Orbital period
257.2 days
Perihelion
0.334 AU
Aphelion
1.249 AU
Longitude of ascending node
267°
Argument of periapsis
211.71°
Epoch · J2000
2461212.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 4.9 LD
0.0126 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.141

Orbit quality

Orbit very uncertain — the object may be effectively lost (uncertainty code 8).

Observations used
29
Data arc
8 days
First observed
20 June 2026
Last observed
28 June 2026
Residual RMS
0.51 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
28 June 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.14

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 16 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2026 MC1 at 2033-06-21 22:26 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2033-06-21 22:26 UTC close approach of 2026 MC1. Catalogue miss distance 76.0 LD · 2.92 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2033-06-18 to 2033-06-24, 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 76.0 LD · 2.92 × 10⁷ km 2033-06-21 22:26 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2033-06-21 22:26 UTC close approach of 2026 MC1. Catalogue miss distance 76.0 LD · 2.92 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2033-06-18 to 2033-06-24, 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
2033-06-21 22:26:00 Earth 0.1954 AU 76.0 LD 24.3 km/s
2038-06-19 15:11:00 Earth 0.1644 AU 64.0 LD 16.2 km/s
2057-06-17 06:27:00 Earth 0.0829 AU 32.2 LD 17.4 km/s
2064-06-20 03:37:00 Earth 0.1424 AU 55.4 LD 22.8 km/s
2076-06-17 04:43:00 Earth 0.0122 AU 4.8 LD 19.2 km/s

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

Sources