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Asteroid Near-Earth Potentially hazardous

437844

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437844 (1999 MN)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.463 AU
True anomaly
253.47°
Distance from Earth
0.696 AU
As of
15 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 437844 — 0.463 AU from the Sun 437844
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 437844 is 0.696 AU from Earth today (5.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 53m 04s
Declination
-17° 55′ 32″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
0.69 AU
Elongation from the Sun
23.08° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
0.674 AU
Eccentricity
0.6653
Inclination
2.03°
Orbital period
202.1 days
Perihelion
0.226 AU
Aphelion
1.123 AU
Longitude of ascending node
81.38°
Argument of periapsis
9.21°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 2.3 LD
0.006 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
8.256

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
298
Data arc
27 years
First observed
22 June 1999
Last observed
20 June 2026
Residual RMS
0.32 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
11 August 2026

Physical properties

Rotation period
5.5 hours

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
21.01

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
CSS
Discovery date
22 June 1999
Discovery site
Catalina

Also known as 1999 MN

Aten Near-Earth Object Potentially Hazardous Asteroid

Close approaches 399 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 437844 at 2030-07-11 21:06 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-07-11 21:06 UTC close approach of 437844. Catalogue miss distance 6.55 LD · 2.52 × 10⁶ 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 south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 9 Jul 10 Jul 13 Jul 14 Jul 6.55 LD · 2.52 × 10⁶ km 2030-07-11 21:06 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-07-11 21:06 UTC close approach of 437844. Catalogue miss distance 6.55 LD · 2.52 × 10⁶ 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 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
2027-04-18 08:14:00 Venus 0.0217 AU 8.4 LD 24.9 km/s
2029-01-26 07:01:00 Mercury 0.0591 AU 23.0 LD 16.1 km/s
2029-01-26 07:01:00 Merc 0.0591 AU 23.0 LD 16.1 km/s
2030-03-26 02:42:00 Venus 0.1274 AU 49.6 LD 30.6 km/s
2030-07-11 21:06:00 Earth 0.0168 AU 6.6 LD 15.3 km/s
2030-09-04 20:56:00 Mercury 0.0347 AU 13.5 LD 27.3 km/s
2030-09-04 20:56:00 Merc 0.0347 AU 13.5 LD 27.3 km/s
2031-06-02 00:52:00 Earth 0.0597 AU 23.3 LD 17.1 km/s
2032-10-29 21:09:00 Venus 0.0471 AU 18.3 LD 26.4 km/s
2034-08-01 06:29:00 Mercury 0.0878 AU 34.2 LD 21.7 km/s

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

Sources