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Asteroid Near-Earth

85953

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85953 (1999 FK21)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.737 AU
True anomaly
134.53°
Distance from Earth
1.38 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 85953 — 0.737 AU from the Sun 85953
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 85953 is 1.38 AU from Earth today (11.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 24m 32s
Declination
-01° 59′ 14″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
1.38 AU
Elongation from the Sun
31.15° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
0.739 AU
Eccentricity
0.7031
Inclination
12.6°
Orbital period
232 days
Perihelion
0.219 AU
Aphelion
1.258 AU
Longitude of ascending node
180.43°
Argument of periapsis
172.43°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 27.6 LD
0.0709 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.565

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
2,132
Data arc
55.13 years
First observed
26 March 1971
Last observed
14 May 2026
Residual RMS
0.39 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
6 June 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
0.30 km
Rotation period
28.08 hours

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.32
Absolute magnitude (H)
18.09
Spectral type (SMASS)
S

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
LINEAR
Discovery date
24 March 1999
Discovery site
Socorro

Also known as 1999 FK21

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 166 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 85953 at 2028-02-16 12:19 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-02-16 12:19 UTC close approach of 85953. Catalogue miss distance 48.3 LD · 1.86 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-02-13 to 2028-02-19, 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 14 Feb 18 Feb 48.3 LD · 1.86 × 10⁷ km 2028-02-16 12:19 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-02-16 12:19 UTC close approach of 85953. Catalogue miss distance 48.3 LD · 1.86 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-02-13 to 2028-02-19, 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
2028-02-16 12:19:00 Earth 0.124 AU 48.3 LD 19.4 km/s
2029-04-05 04:29:00 Merc 0.0689 AU 26.8 LD 41.6 km/s
2029-04-05 04:29:00 Mercury 0.0689 AU 26.8 LD 41.6 km/s
2032-04-07 22:55:00 Earth 0.0755 AU 29.4 LD 20.8 km/s
2035-02-17 10:56:00 Earth 0.1439 AU 56.0 LD 17.8 km/s
2036-03-30 17:58:00 Mercury 0.0746 AU 29.0 LD 43.4 km/s
2036-03-30 17:58:00 Merc 0.0746 AU 29.0 LD 43.4 km/s
2039-04-07 08:52:00 Earth 0.1251 AU 48.7 LD 23.3 km/s
2042-02-20 16:24:00 Earth 0.1832 AU 71.3 LD 16.7 km/s
2042-07-01 23:00:00 Venus 0.1407 AU 54.8 LD 33.5 km/s

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

Sources