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Asteroid Near-Earth

138258

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138258 (2000 GD2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.057 AU
True anomaly
200.67°
Distance from Earth
2.021 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 138258 — 1.057 AU from the Sun 138258
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 138258 is 2.021 AU from Earth today (16.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 27m 13s
Declination
-19° 43′ 03″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
2.02 AU
Elongation from the Sun
10.56° — 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
0.758 AU
Eccentricity
0.4767
Inclination
32.14°
Orbital period
240.9 days
Perihelion
0.397 AU
Aphelion
1.119 AU
Longitude of ascending node
358.11°
Argument of periapsis
16.98°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 27.9 LD
0.0717 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.435

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
244
Data arc
25.09 years
First observed
29 March 1998
Last observed
2 May 2023
Residual RMS
0.56 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
3 May 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
18.98
Spectral type (SMASS)
Sq

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
LINEAR
Discovery date
3 April 2000
Discovery site
Socorro

Also known as 2000 GD2

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 172 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 138258 at 2027-03-18 07:16 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-03-18 07:16 UTC close approach of 138258. Catalogue miss distance 125.5 LD · 4.82 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-03-15 to 2027-03-21, 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. Sun 125.5 LD · 4.82 × 10⁷ km 2027-03-18 07:16 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-03-18 07:16 UTC close approach of 138258. Catalogue miss distance 125.5 LD · 4.82 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-03-15 to 2027-03-21, 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.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2027-03-18 07:16:00 Earth 0.3224 AU 125.5 LD 24.6 km/s
2029-03-15 09:05:00 Earth 0.2185 AU 85.1 LD 21.6 km/s
2031-03-14 23:52:00 Earth 0.1262 AU 49.1 LD 19.2 km/s
2031-08-19 03:17:00 Merc 0.0432 AU 16.8 LD 26 km/s
2031-08-19 03:17:00 Mercury 0.0432 AU 16.8 LD 26 km/s
2033-03-15 11:57:00 Earth 0.0723 AU 28.1 LD 17.6 km/s
2035-03-18 22:10:00 Earth 0.1049 AU 40.8 LD 16.7 km/s
2037-03-22 20:52:00 Earth 0.1702 AU 66.2 LD 16.6 km/s
2039-03-28 15:04:00 Earth 0.2359 AU 91.8 LD 16.8 km/s
2041-04-02 11:20:00 Earth 0.2992 AU 116.4 LD 17.6 km/s

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

Sources