2026 QQ8 is an asteroid in the Aten orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.96 AU to 1.01 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 359.1 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 29 October 2026.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 0.974 AU
- True anomaly
- 302.71°
- Distance from Earth
- 0.018 AU
- As of
- 2 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
- 15h 18m 26s
- Declination
- -20° 26′ 12″
- Constellation
- Libra
- Distance from Earth
- 0.02 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 11.74° — 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.
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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
- 0.989 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.0262
- Inclination
- 0.53°
- Orbital period
- 359.1 days
- Perihelion
- 0.963 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.015 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 45.09°
- Argument of periapsis
- 52.29°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · ATE
- Aten
- Earth MOID · 1.5 LD
- 0.0038 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 6.134
Orbit quality
Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 2).
- Observations used
- 36
- Data arc
- 51 days
- First observed
- 19 August 2026
- Last observed
- 9 October 2026
- Residual RMS
- 0.44 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 29 October 2026
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 31.37
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 26 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-12-13 13:41 UTC close approach of 2026 QQ8. Catalogue miss distance 3.52 LD · 1.35 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-12-10 to 2026-12-16, 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.
| When (UTC) | Body | Distance | Lunar distances | Relative speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-03 19:43:00 | Moon | 0.0098 AU | 3.8 LD | 0.7 km/s |
| 2026-12-04 14:33:00 | Moon | 0.0071 AU | 2.8 LD | 0.3 km/s |
| 2026-12-13 13:41:00 | Earth | 0.009 AU | 3.5 LD | 0.8 km/s |
| 2037-08-01 02:00:00 | Earth | 0.0923 AU | 35.9 LD | 2 km/s |
| 2037-12-24 06:10:00 | Earth | 0.1587 AU | 61.8 LD | 5.3 km/s |
| 2047-12-04 02:09:00 | Earth | 0.1628 AU | 63.4 LD | 5.5 km/s |
| 2048-05-03 16:46:00 | Earth | 0.0938 AU | 36.5 LD | 2 km/s |
| 2058-12-19 05:56:00 | Earth | 0.0128 AU | 5.0 LD | 0.8 km/s |
| 2107-02-17 16:41:00 | Moon | 0.0098 AU | 3.8 LD | 0.7 km/s |
| 2107-03-19 07:32:00 | Moon | 0.0099 AU | 3.8 LD | 0.5 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