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Asteroid Near-Earth

515742

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515742 (2015 CU)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.14 AU
True anomaly
205.88°
Distance from Earth
2.062 AU
As of
24 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 — 0.994 AU from the Sun Earth 515742 — 1.14 AU from the Sun 515742
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 515742 is 2.062 AU from Earth today (17.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 38m 47s
Declination
+03° 29′ 29″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
2.06 AU
Elongation from the Sun
16.16° — 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
0.971 AU
Eccentricity
0.2039
Inclination
35.38°
Orbital period
349.7 days
Perihelion
0.773 AU
Aphelion
1.169 AU
Longitude of ascending node
154.06°
Argument of periapsis
197.83°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 64.0 LD
0.1645 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.046

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
177
Data arc
3.08 years
First observed
8 February 2015
Last observed
10 March 2018
Residual RMS
0.45 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
14 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
20.83

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Pan-STARRS 1
Discovery date
8 February 2015
Discovery site
Haleakala

Also known as 2015 CU

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 122 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 515742 at 2036-02-17 18:57 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2036-02-17 18:57 UTC close approach of 515742. Catalogue miss distance 137.2 LD · 5.27 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2036-02-14 to 2036-02-20, 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 137.2 LD · 5.27 × 10⁷ km 2036-02-17 18:57 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2036-02-17 18:57 UTC close approach of 515742. Catalogue miss distance 137.2 LD · 5.27 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2036-02-14 to 2036-02-20, 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
2036-02-17 18:57:00 Earth 0.3525 AU 137.2 LD 20.4 km/s
2036-10-06 05:03:00 Earth 0.455 AU 177.1 LD 22.5 km/s
2037-02-19 04:10:00 Earth 0.1943 AU 75.6 LD 18 km/s
2037-09-13 04:18:00 Earth 0.2924 AU 113.8 LD 21.6 km/s
2038-02-23 16:01:00 Earth 0.19 AU 74.0 LD 17.4 km/s
2038-08-22 21:51:00 Earth 0.2331 AU 90.7 LD 21.4 km/s
2039-03-01 08:27:00 Earth 0.3311 AU 128.9 LD 18.3 km/s
2039-08-01 22:37:00 Earth 0.3435 AU 133.7 LD 22.5 km/s
2058-02-17 07:57:00 Earth 0.4266 AU 166.0 LD 21.8 km/s
2059-02-18 15:46:00 Earth 0.2448 AU 95.3 LD 18.7 km/s

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

Sources