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Asteroid Near-Earth

2026 SZ2

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(2026 SZ2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.904 AU
True anomaly
261.91°
Distance from Earth
0.095 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 SZ2 — 0.904 AU from the Sun 2026 SZ2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2026 SZ2 is 0.095 AU from Earth today (47.4 light-seconds).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 34m 33s
Declination
-24° 38′ 28″
Constellation
Hydra
Distance from Earth
0.1 AU
Elongation from the Sun
13.93° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
0.915 AU
Eccentricity
0.2023
Inclination
2.85°
Orbital period
319.8 days
Perihelion
0.73 AU
Aphelion
1.1 AU
Longitude of ascending node
177.88°
Argument of periapsis
308.3°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 0.1 LD
0.0003 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.505

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).

Observations used
34
First observed
20 September 2026
Last observed
20 September 2026
Residual RMS
0.25 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
23 September 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
30.56

Discovery & classification

Listed by JPL impact monitoring; see the Sentry table for current probabilities.

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 44 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2026 SZ2 at 2034-10-04 00:44 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2034-10-04 00:44 UTC close approach of 2026 SZ2. Catalogue miss distance 74.3 LD · 2.86 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2034-10-01 to 2034-10-07, 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. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 74.3 LD · 2.86 × 10⁷ km 2034-10-04 00:44 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2034-10-04 00:44 UTC close approach of 2026 SZ2. Catalogue miss distance 74.3 LD · 2.86 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2034-10-01 to 2034-10-07, 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. 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
2027-01-25 04:59:00 Venus 0.1206 AU 46.9 LD 9 km/s
2031-06-28 05:34:00 Venus 0.1061 AU 41.3 LD 12.9 km/s
2034-10-04 00:44:00 Earth 0.1909 AU 74.3 LD 10.6 km/s
2034-11-23 08:59:00 Venus 0.0878 AU 34.2 LD 8.9 km/s
2039-05-19 00:01:00 Venus 0.117 AU 45.5 LD 8.9 km/s
2039-08-23 03:27:00 Earth 0.1182 AU 46.0 LD 7.7 km/s
2043-10-18 18:33:00 Venus 0.1267 AU 49.3 LD 14 km/s
2047-03-14 22:26:00 Venus 0.0924 AU 36.0 LD 7.6 km/s
2047-09-26 13:47:00 Earth 0.0209 AU 8.1 LD 5.5 km/s
2051-08-30 00:21:00 Venus 0.1284 AU 50.0 LD 9.1 km/s

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

Sources