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Asteroid Near-Earth Potentially hazardous

306383

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306383 (1993 VD)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.354 AU
True anomaly
175.69°
Distance from Earth
0.954 AU
As of
20 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 — 0.996 AU from the Sun Earth 306383 — 1.354 AU from the Sun 306383
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 306383 is 0.954 AU from Earth today (7.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
08h 08m 59s
Declination
+22° 57′ 40″
Constellation
Cancer
Distance from Earth
0.95 AU
Elongation from the Sun
88.01° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
0.876 AU
Eccentricity
0.5515
Inclination
2.07°
Orbital period
299.3 days
Perihelion
0.393 AU
Aphelion
1.359 AU
Longitude of ascending node
2.14°
Argument of periapsis
254.27°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 6.8 LD
0.0174 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.626

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
208
Data arc
32.08 years
First observed
9 November 1993
Last observed
10 December 2025
Residual RMS
0.43 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
11 December 2025

Physical properties

Rotation period
0.94 hours

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
21.52

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Spacewatch
Discovery date
9 November 1993
Discovery site
Kitt Peak

Also known as 1993 VD

Aten Near-Earth Object Potentially Hazardous Asteroid

Close approaches 208 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 306383 at 2027-01-24 02:21 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-01-24 02:21 UTC close approach of 306383. Catalogue miss distance 30.8 LD · 1.18 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-01-21 to 2027-01-27, 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 30.8 LD · 1.18 × 10⁷ km 2027-01-24 02:21 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-01-24 02:21 UTC close approach of 306383. Catalogue miss distance 30.8 LD · 1.18 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-01-21 to 2027-01-27, 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
2027-01-24 02:21:00 Earth 0.0791 AU 30.8 LD 14.7 km/s
2027-04-07 16:44:00 Merc 0.0485 AU 18.9 LD 27.7 km/s
2027-04-07 16:44:00 Mercury 0.0485 AU 18.9 LD 27.7 km/s
2031-05-13 22:49:00 Mercury 0.0798 AU 31.0 LD 32 km/s
2031-05-13 22:49:00 Merc 0.0798 AU 31.0 LD 32 km/s
2032-12-13 05:32:00 Mercury 0.0697 AU 27.1 LD 31.7 km/s
2032-12-13 05:32:00 Merc 0.0697 AU 27.1 LD 31.7 km/s
2034-10-26 22:04:00 Earth 0.166 AU 64.6 LD 12.6 km/s
2036-01-21 09:33:00 Earth 0.1674 AU 65.1 LD 12.6 km/s
2037-01-18 06:02:00 Merc 0.0383 AU 14.9 LD 27.9 km/s

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

Sources