Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2002 FT5

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2002 FT5)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.955 AU
True anomaly
105.19°
Distance from Earth
1.647 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 2002 FT5 — 0.955 AU from the Sun 2002 FT5
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2002 FT5 is 1.647 AU from Earth today (13.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 22m 32s
Declination
+09° 19′ 12″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.65 AU
Elongation from the Sun
31.62° — 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
0.967 AU
Eccentricity
0.3004
Inclination
28.06°
Orbital period
347.3 days
Perihelion
0.677 AU
Aphelion
1.257 AU
Longitude of ascending node
7.92°
Argument of periapsis
31.49°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 64.0 LD
0.1643 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.107

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
94
Data arc
20.01 years
First observed
20 March 2002
Last observed
25 March 2022
Residual RMS
0.61 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
25 March 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
21.57

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 148 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2002 FT5 at 2039-03-19 23:58 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2039-03-19 23:58 UTC close approach of 2002 FT5. Catalogue miss distance 150.1 LD · 5.77 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2039-03-16 to 2039-03-22, 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 150.1 LD · 5.77 × 10⁷ km 2039-03-19 23:58 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2039-03-19 23:58 UTC close approach of 2002 FT5. Catalogue miss distance 150.1 LD · 5.77 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2039-03-16 to 2039-03-22, 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
2039-03-19 23:58:00 Earth 0.3856 AU 150.1 LD 21.7 km/s
2040-03-18 02:31:00 Earth 0.1874 AU 72.9 LD 16.3 km/s
2040-12-04 01:09:00 Earth 0.4661 AU 181.4 LD 15.8 km/s
2041-03-27 00:19:00 Earth 0.2113 AU 82.2 LD 14.5 km/s
2041-10-27 03:40:00 Earth 0.3657 AU 142.3 LD 19.5 km/s
2042-04-11 10:07:00 Earth 0.3522 AU 137.1 LD 14.4 km/s
2042-09-26 15:27:00 Venus 0.1456 AU 56.7 LD 21.9 km/s
2042-09-26 21:24:00 Earth 0.2954 AU 115.0 LD 19.6 km/s
2043-05-03 22:21:00 Earth 0.4764 AU 185.4 LD 14.1 km/s
2043-08-28 07:12:00 Earth 0.3411 AU 132.7 LD 19.6 km/s

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

Sources