2002 RS129 is an asteroid in the Apollo orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.69 AU to 1.37 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 382.3 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 11 October 2024.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 1.219 AU
- True anomaly
- 138.41°
- Distance from Earth
- 0.74 AU
- As of
- 3 November 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.
In the sky
- Right ascension
- 20h 44m 28s
- Declination
- -11° 48′ 02″
- Constellation
- Aquarius
- Distance from Earth
- 0.75 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 88.19° — well clear of the Sun
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.
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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
- 1.031 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.329
- Inclination
- 8.45°
- Orbital period
- 382.3 days
- Perihelion
- 0.692 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.37 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 338.82°
- Argument of periapsis
- 247.16°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · APO
- Apollo
- Earth MOID · 6.4 LD
- 0.0164 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 5.879
Orbit quality
Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).
- Observations used
- 99
- Data arc
- 22.12 years
- First observed
- 26 August 2002
- Last observed
- 10 October 2024
- Residual RMS
- 0.67 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 11 October 2024
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 22.91
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 182 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2041-01-07 03:42 UTC close approach of 2002 RS129. Catalogue miss distance 179.5 LD · 6.9 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2041-01-04 to 2041-01-10, 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.
| When (UTC) | Body | Distance | Lunar distances | Relative speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2037-01-23 04:12:00 | Venus | 0.1113 AU | 43.3 LD | 6.7 km/s |
| 2041-01-07 03:42:00 | Earth | 0.4611 AU | 179.5 LD | 24.7 km/s |
| 2042-01-20 22:36:00 | Earth | 0.1838 AU | 71.5 LD | 15.9 km/s |
| 2043-02-10 14:11:00 | Earth | 0.1447 AU | 56.3 LD | 8 km/s |
| 2043-12-14 21:39:00 | Earth | 0.3589 AU | 139.7 LD | 8.1 km/s |
| 2044-04-09 03:06:00 | Earth | 0.3055 AU | 118.9 LD | 11.1 km/s |
| 2044-11-13 10:34:00 | Earth | 0.4116 AU | 160.2 LD | 9.3 km/s |
| 2045-05-22 02:05:00 | Earth | 0.3376 AU | 131.4 LD | 11.6 km/s |
| 2045-10-16 18:04:00 | Earth | 0.3768 AU | 146.6 LD | 9 km/s |
| 2046-07-18 05:40:00 | Earth | 0.2515 AU | 97.9 LD | 6.7 km/s |
Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.
Sources
- visual properties: JPL SBDB (lookup)
- orbital elements: JPL SBDB