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Asteroid Near-Earth

2002 XB

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(2002 XB)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.944 AU
True anomaly
113.48°
Distance from Earth
0.697 AU
As of
20 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 — 0.996 AU from the Sun Earth 2002 XB — 0.944 AU from the Sun 2002 XB
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2002 XB is 0.697 AU from Earth today (5.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
17h 53m 25s
Declination
+10° 59′ 08″
Constellation
Ophiuchus
Distance from Earth
0.7 AU
Elongation from the Sun
65.43° — 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.

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
0.906 AU
Eccentricity
0.2376
Inclination
25.53°
Orbital period
315 days
Perihelion
0.691 AU
Aphelion
1.121 AU
Longitude of ascending node
245.86°
Argument of periapsis
351.29°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 50.4 LD
0.1295 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.474

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
71
Data arc
19.1 years
First observed
1 December 2002
Last observed
5 January 2022
Residual RMS
0.62 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 January 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
21.88

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 175 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2002 XB at 2027-07-10 15:39 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-07-10 15:39 UTC close approach of 2002 XB. Catalogue miss distance 148.4 LD · 5.71 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-07-07 to 2027-07-13, 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 148.4 LD · 5.71 × 10⁷ km 2027-07-10 15:39 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-07-10 15:39 UTC close approach of 2002 XB. Catalogue miss distance 148.4 LD · 5.71 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-07-07 to 2027-07-13, 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
2027-07-10 15:39:00 Earth 0.3814 AU 148.4 LD 16.8 km/s
2027-11-26 16:32:00 Earth 0.1416 AU 55.1 LD 13.3 km/s
2028-04-09 08:26:00 Earth 0.3968 AU 154.4 LD 16.5 km/s
2033-11-14 23:51:00 Earth 0.25 AU 97.3 LD 14.2 km/s
2034-05-06 18:29:00 Earth 0.3414 AU 132.9 LD 18.1 km/s
2034-12-14 04:44:00 Earth 0.4202 AU 163.5 LD 19.4 km/s
2039-11-05 19:48:00 Earth 0.3993 AU 155.4 LD 16.8 km/s
2040-05-30 20:31:00 Earth 0.3206 AU 124.8 LD 18.3 km/s
2040-12-10 15:00:00 Earth 0.2463 AU 95.8 LD 15.2 km/s
2046-06-24 23:58:00 Earth 0.3486 AU 135.7 LD 17.7 km/s

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

Sources