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Asteroid Near-Earth

2026 OW

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(2026 OW)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.133 AU
True anomaly
202.63°
Distance from Earth
0.566 AU
As of
22 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 OW — 1.133 AU from the Sun 2026 OW
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2026 OW is 0.566 AU from Earth today (4.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
20h 53m 50s
Declination
-57° 38′ 43″
Constellation
Indus
Distance from Earth
0.57 AU
Elongation from the Sun
88.49° — well clear of the Sun

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
0.953 AU
Eccentricity
0.2137
Inclination
19.52°
Orbital period
340.1 days
Perihelion
0.75 AU
Aphelion
1.157 AU
Longitude of ascending node
117.96°
Argument of periapsis
45.63°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 18.0 LD
0.0463 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.246

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
13
Data arc
5 days
First observed
16 July 2026
Last observed
21 July 2026
Residual RMS
0.33 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
21 July 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.54

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 31 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2026 OW at 2028-01-04 02:23 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-01-04 02:23 UTC close approach of 2026 OW. Catalogue miss distance 69.3 LD · 2.67 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-01-01 to 2028-01-07, 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 69.3 LD · 2.67 × 10⁷ km 2028-01-04 02:23 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-01-04 02:23 UTC close approach of 2026 OW. Catalogue miss distance 69.3 LD · 2.67 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-01-01 to 2028-01-07, 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
2028-01-04 02:23:00 Earth 0.1782 AU 69.3 LD 12.9 km/s
2039-07-17 22:33:00 Earth 0.1549 AU 60.3 LD 13.7 km/s
2044-10-25 12:07:00 Venus 0.0994 AU 38.7 LD 13 km/s
2046-09-01 14:20:00 Venus 0.0626 AU 24.4 LD 11.1 km/s
2053-07-19 23:04:00 Earth 0.1094 AU 42.6 LD 10.1 km/s
2066-07-16 22:19:00 Earth 0.0751 AU 29.2 LD 12 km/s
2080-07-22 06:13:00 Earth 0.1478 AU 57.5 LD 10 km/s
2081-02-10 18:06:00 Venus 0.0998 AU 38.8 LD 13 km/s
2082-12-18 20:15:00 Venus 0.0632 AU 24.6 LD 11.1 km/s
2093-07-16 21:50:00 Earth 0.0469 AU 18.2 LD 11.2 km/s

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

Sources