Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

1994 GL

Add to an observing list or journal →

(1994 GL)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.384 AU
True anomaly
49.62°
Distance from Earth
0.765 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 1994 GL — 0.384 AU from the Sun 1994 GL
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 1994 GL is 0.765 AU from Earth today (6.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 04m 40s
Declination
-02° 06′ 28″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
0.78 AU
Elongation from the Sun
21.27° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
0.683 AU
Eccentricity
0.5039
Inclination
3.68°
Orbital period
206.4 days
Perihelion
0.339 AU
Aphelion
1.028 AU
Longitude of ascending node
196.61°
Argument of periapsis
179.57°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 5.0 LD
0.0128 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
8.239

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 2).

Observations used
104
Data arc
26 years
First observed
7 April 1994
Last observed
6 April 2020
Residual RMS
0.51 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
14 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.5

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 320 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 1994 GL at 2028-04-18 09:27 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-04-18 09:27 UTC close approach of 1994 GL. Catalogue miss distance 137.6 LD · 5.29 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-04-15 to 2028-04-21, 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. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 137.6 LD · 5.29 × 10⁷ km 2028-04-18 09:27 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-04-18 09:27 UTC close approach of 1994 GL. Catalogue miss distance 137.6 LD · 5.29 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-04-15 to 2028-04-21, 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. 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
2027-10-16 23:04:00 Venus 0.1064 AU 41.4 LD 23.3 km/s
2028-04-18 09:27:00 Earth 0.3535 AU 137.6 LD 22.4 km/s
2029-03-16 19:13:00 Earth 0.1113 AU 43.3 LD 13.5 km/s
2032-07-16 03:21:00 Venus 0.1491 AU 58.0 LD 12.8 km/s
2033-04-07 23:01:00 Earth 0.0264 AU 10.3 LD 9.2 km/s
2034-07-26 00:51:00 Venus 0.0335 AU 13.0 LD 18.7 km/s
2036-11-22 11:05:00 Merc 0.0864 AU 33.6 LD 17.9 km/s
2036-11-22 11:05:00 Mercury 0.0864 AU 33.6 LD 17.9 km/s
2037-01-05 04:21:00 Earth 0.4742 AU 184.6 LD 10.2 km/s
2037-04-24 13:03:00 Earth 0.1407 AU 54.8 LD 14.7 km/s

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

Sources