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Asteroid Near-Earth

2003 YR1

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(2003 YR1)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.297 AU
True anomaly
186.74°
Distance from Earth
0.689 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 2003 YR1 — 1.297 AU from the Sun 2003 YR1
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2003 YR1 is 0.689 AU from Earth today (5.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
06h 57m 38s
Declination
-09° 31′ 30″
Constellation
Monoceros
Distance from Earth
0.68 AU
Elongation from the Sun
99.55° — 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
0.899 AU
Eccentricity
0.4508
Inclination
29.33°
Orbital period
311.4 days
Perihelion
0.494 AU
Aphelion
1.304 AU
Longitude of ascending node
86.39°
Argument of periapsis
138.07°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 25.9 LD
0.0665 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.435

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
58
Data arc
17.01 years
First observed
18 December 2003
Last observed
21 December 2020
Residual RMS
0.36 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
14 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
22.2

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 173 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2003 YR1 at 2026-12-23 14:37 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-12-23 14:37 UTC close approach of 2003 YR1. Catalogue miss distance 36.9 LD · 1.42 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-12-20 to 2026-12-26, 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 36.9 LD · 1.42 × 10⁷ km 2026-12-23 14:37 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-12-23 14:37 UTC close approach of 2003 YR1. Catalogue miss distance 36.9 LD · 1.42 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-12-20 to 2026-12-26, 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
2026-12-23 14:37:00 Earth 0.0948 AU 36.9 LD 17.7 km/s
2027-03-23 13:34:00 Mercury 0.0874 AU 34.0 LD 21 km/s
2027-03-23 13:34:00 Merc 0.0874 AU 34.0 LD 21 km/s
2031-07-08 08:14:00 Earth 0.442 AU 172.0 LD 23.9 km/s
2032-12-21 03:20:00 Earth 0.1295 AU 50.4 LD 21.4 km/s
2037-06-19 19:38:00 Earth 0.4701 AU 182.9 LD 25.6 km/s
2037-12-02 16:06:00 Earth 0.427 AU 166.2 LD 15.7 km/s
2038-04-22 07:12:00 Merc 0.0799 AU 31.1 LD 22.5 km/s
2038-04-22 07:12:00 Mercury 0.0799 AU 31.1 LD 22.5 km/s
2038-12-16 03:37:00 Earth 0.3054 AU 118.8 LD 26.3 km/s

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

Sources