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Asteroid Near-Earth

340666

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340666 (2006 RO36)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.033 AU
True anomaly
222.78°
Distance from Earth
0.387 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 340666 — 1.033 AU from the Sun 340666
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 340666 is 0.387 AU from Earth today (3.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 38m 02s
Declination
+72° 46′ 32″
Constellation
Draco
Distance from Earth
0.38 AU
Elongation from the Sun
84.36° — 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
0.906 AU
Eccentricity
0.2313
Inclination
23.85°
Orbital period
315.2 days
Perihelion
0.697 AU
Aphelion
1.116 AU
Longitude of ascending node
270.92°
Argument of periapsis
261.17°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 43.4 LD
0.1114 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.483

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
966
Data arc
20.04 years
First observed
15 September 2006
Last observed
1 October 2026
Residual RMS
0.49 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
2 October 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
17.8

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
LINEAR
Discovery date
15 September 2006
Discovery site
Socorro

Also known as 2006 RO36

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 72 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 340666 at 2032-12-21 05:17 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2032-12-21 05:17 UTC close approach of 340666. Catalogue miss distance 62.5 LD · 2.4 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2032-12-18 to 2032-12-24, 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 62.5 LD · 2.4 × 10⁷ km 2032-12-21 05:17 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2032-12-21 05:17 UTC close approach of 340666. Catalogue miss distance 62.5 LD · 2.4 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2032-12-18 to 2032-12-24, 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
2032-12-21 05:17:00 Earth 0.1606 AU 62.5 LD 14 km/s
2038-06-29 01:36:00 Earth 0.1125 AU 43.8 LD 13.9 km/s
2051-12-15 18:52:00 Earth 0.1391 AU 54.1 LD 14.6 km/s
2057-06-23 07:15:00 Earth 0.142 AU 55.3 LD 13.1 km/s
2063-03-21 07:26:00 Venus 0.1479 AU 57.5 LD 20 km/s
2063-07-10 04:29:00 Earth 0.1815 AU 70.6 LD 16.5 km/s
2067-07-11 17:45:00 Venus 0.1168 AU 45.5 LD 18.7 km/s
2070-12-06 17:30:00 Earth 0.169 AU 65.8 LD 16.1 km/s
2071-10-31 21:31:00 Venus 0.103 AU 40.1 LD 17.9 km/s
2076-02-20 20:18:00 Venus 0.1056 AU 41.1 LD 17.2 km/s

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

Sources