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Asteroid Near-Earth

215442

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215442 (2002 MQ3)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.019 AU
True anomaly
128.48°
Distance from Earth
1.904 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 215442 — 1.019 AU from the Sun 215442
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 215442 is 1.904 AU from Earth today (15.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 45m 34s
Declination
+01° 24′ 37″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.91 AU
Elongation from the Sun
19.21° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
0.914 AU
Eccentricity
0.2742
Inclination
36.29°
Orbital period
319 days
Perihelion
0.663 AU
Aphelion
1.164 AU
Longitude of ascending node
109.06°
Argument of periapsis
346.9°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 52.2 LD
0.1342 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.345

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
860
Data arc
22.04 years
First observed
30 June 2002
Last observed
14 July 2024
Residual RMS
0.52 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
16 June 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
0.54 km
Rotation period
19.71 days

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.08
Absolute magnitude (H)
18.53

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
LINEAR
Discovery date
30 June 2002
Discovery site
Socorro

Also known as 2002 MQ3

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 46 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 215442 at 2030-07-11 11:54 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-07-11 11:54 UTC close approach of 215442. Catalogue miss distance 62.9 LD · 2.42 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-07-08 to 2030-07-14, 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 62.9 LD · 2.42 × 10⁷ km 2030-07-11 11:54 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-07-11 11:54 UTC close approach of 215442. Catalogue miss distance 62.9 LD · 2.42 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-07-08 to 2030-07-14, 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
2030-07-11 11:54:00 Earth 0.1616 AU 62.9 LD 17.3 km/s
2036-03-10 07:49:00 Venus 0.084 AU 32.7 LD 23.3 km/s
2037-07-12 14:31:00 Earth 0.1381 AU 53.7 LD 17.4 km/s
2044-07-13 10:51:00 Earth 0.1368 AU 53.3 LD 17.6 km/s
2051-07-15 02:53:00 Earth 0.1573 AU 61.2 LD 17.9 km/s
2052-10-13 15:42:00 Venus 0.0596 AU 23.2 LD 22.6 km/s
2058-07-15 15:16:00 Earth 0.1975 AU 76.8 LD 18.5 km/s
2063-04-07 16:48:00 Venus 0.126 AU 49.0 LD 24 km/s
2079-11-09 12:31:00 Venus 0.0515 AU 20.0 LD 22.7 km/s
2090-05-03 03:52:00 Venus 0.1376 AU 53.5 LD 24.3 km/s

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

Sources