2026 MZ1 is an asteroid in the Apollo orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.76 AU to 1.3 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 381 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 July 2026.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 1.28 AU
- True anomaly
- 197.02°
- Distance from Earth
- 1.028 AU
- As of
- 3 November 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.
In the sky
- Right ascension
- 20h 41m 23s
- Declination
- -51° 23′ 32″
- Constellation
- Indus
- Distance from Earth
- 1.03 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 78.38° — well clear of the Sun
Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.
From your location
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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
- 1.029 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.264
- Inclination
- 25.44°
- Orbital period
- 381 days
- Perihelion
- 0.757 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.3 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 93.24°
- Argument of periapsis
- 64.85°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · APO
- Apollo
- Earth MOID · 20.1 LD
- 0.0516 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 5.833
Orbit quality
Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).
- Observations used
- 114
- Data arc
- 22 days
- First observed
- 19 June 2026
- Last observed
- 11 July 2026
- Residual RMS
- 0.42 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 15 July 2026
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 23.03
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 14 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2050-06-21 11:56 UTC close approach of 2026 MZ1. Catalogue miss distance 21.8 LD · 8.37 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2050-06-18 to 2050-06-24, 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 north of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.
| When (UTC) | Body | Distance | Lunar distances | Relative speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2049-01-31 06:32:00 | Venus | 0.1467 AU | 57.1 LD | 13.7 km/s |
| 2050-06-21 11:56:00 | Earth | 0.056 AU | 21.8 LD | 14.3 km/s |
Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.
Sources
- visual properties: JPL SBDB (lookup)
- orbital elements: JPL SBDB