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Asteroid Near-Earth

509505

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509505 (2007 VL8)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.081 AU
True anomaly
133.25°
Distance from Earth
0.126 AU
As of
22 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 509505 — 1.081 AU from the Sun 509505
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 509505 is 0.126 AU from Earth today (1.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
03h 49m 59s
Declination
-28° 45′ 09″
Constellation
Fornax
Distance from Earth
0.13 AU
Elongation from the Sun
130.49° — well clear of the Sun

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
0.936 AU
Eccentricity
0.3594
Inclination
9.34°
Orbital period
330.8 days
Perihelion
0.6 AU
Aphelion
1.272 AU
Longitude of ascending node
62.31°
Argument of periapsis
194.75°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 42.9 LD
0.1102 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.34

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
104
Data arc
18.95 years
First observed
5 November 2007
Last observed
18 October 2026
Residual RMS
0.65 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
19 October 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
21.24

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
CSS
Discovery date
5 November 2007
Discovery site
Catalina

Also known as 2007 VL8

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 112 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 509505 at 2045-10-15 17:03 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2045-10-15 17:03 UTC close approach of 509505. Catalogue miss distance 43.4 LD · 1.67 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2045-10-12 to 2045-10-18, 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 13 Oct 18 Oct 43.4 LD · 1.67 × 10⁷ km 2045-10-15 17:03 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2045-10-15 17:03 UTC close approach of 509505. Catalogue miss distance 43.4 LD · 1.67 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2045-10-12 to 2045-10-18, 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
2026-10-18 08:13:00 Earth 0.1297 AU 50.5 LD 9.8 km/s
2040-03-24 02:54:00 Venus 0.0832 AU 32.4 LD 10 km/s
2041-12-08 02:35:00 Venus 0.1217 AU 47.4 LD 10.5 km/s
2043-09-06 20:52:00 Venus 0.0916 AU 35.7 LD 15.2 km/s
2045-10-15 17:03:00 Earth 0.1115 AU 43.4 LD 11.9 km/s
2048-02-06 08:56:00 Earth 0.1608 AU 62.6 LD 12.3 km/s
2055-08-18 01:14:00 Venus 0.0942 AU 36.7 LD 14 km/s
2057-05-11 05:36:00 Venus 0.1305 AU 50.8 LD 10.6 km/s
2059-01-29 22:44:00 Venus 0.0531 AU 20.7 LD 11.4 km/s
2064-10-16 11:01:00 Earth 0.1458 AU 56.8 LD 14.2 km/s

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

Sources