2002 VX91 is an asteroid in the Aten orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.79 AU to 1.18 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 356.7 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 14 April 2021.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 0.96 AU
- True anomaly
- 265.45°
- Distance from Earth
- 1.923 AU
- As of
- 2 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
- 13h 55m 49s
- Declination
- -12° 10′ 46″
- Constellation
- Virgo
- Distance from Earth
- 1.92 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 9.66° — 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.
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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
- 0.984 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.2014
- Inclination
- 2.34°
- Orbital period
- 356.7 days
- Perihelion
- 0.786 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.183 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 216.36°
- Argument of periapsis
- 78.81°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · ATE
- Aten
- Earth MOID · 0.8 LD
- 0.0019 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 6.138
Orbit quality
Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 2).
- Observations used
- 45
- Data arc
- 5.32 years
- First observed
- 4 November 2002
- Last observed
- 28 February 2008
- Residual RMS
- 0.68 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 14 April 2021
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 24.3
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 117 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2040-11-20 07:05 UTC close approach of 2002 VX91. Catalogue miss distance 190.7 LD · 7.33 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2040-11-17 to 2040-11-23, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2040-11-20 07:05:00 | Earth | 0.4899 AU | 190.7 LD | 21.6 km/s |
| 2041-11-14 09:36:00 | Earth | 0.3437 AU | 133.8 LD | 17 km/s |
| 2042-08-11 09:04:00 | Venus | 0.0862 AU | 33.5 LD | 3.3 km/s |
| 2042-11-08 15:33:00 | Earth | 0.195 AU | 75.9 LD | 12.5 km/s |
| 2043-11-03 14:02:00 | Earth | 0.0495 AU | 19.2 LD | 8.1 km/s |
| 2044-11-04 07:42:00 | Earth | 0.0855 AU | 33.3 LD | 4.3 km/s |
| 2045-09-04 01:25:00 | Earth | 0.1906 AU | 74.2 LD | 5.7 km/s |
| 2045-12-14 12:38:00 | Earth | 0.1747 AU | 68.0 LD | 5.2 km/s |
| 2046-08-04 17:23:00 | Earth | 0.2263 AU | 88.1 LD | 7.2 km/s |
| 2047-01-10 10:58:00 | Earth | 0.2034 AU | 79.2 LD | 5.8 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