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Asteroid Near-Earth

2004 VJ1

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(2004 VJ1)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.098 AU
True anomaly
184.84°
Distance from Earth
0.105 AU
As of
22 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 — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth 2004 VJ1 — 1.098 AU from the Sun 2004 VJ1
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2004 VJ1 is 0.105 AU from Earth today (52.5 light-seconds).

In the sky

Right ascension
02h 25m 50s
Declination
+19° 57′ 07″
Constellation
Aries
Distance from Earth
0.11 AU
Elongation from the Sun
167.82° — near opposition — up most of the night

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
0.944 AU
Eccentricity
0.1641
Inclination
1.29°
Orbital period
334.9 days
Perihelion
0.789 AU
Aphelion
1.099 AU
Longitude of ascending node
233.27°
Argument of periapsis
332.32°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 5.3 LD
0.0137 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.353

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
114
Data arc
21.95 years
First observed
4 November 2004
Last observed
19 October 2026
Residual RMS
0.72 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
19 October 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.1

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 100 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2004 VJ1 at 2026-11-05 15:06 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-11-05 15:06 UTC close approach of 2004 VJ1. Catalogue miss distance 38.8 LD · 1.49 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-11-02 to 2026-11-08, 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 38.8 LD · 1.49 × 10⁷ km 2026-11-05 15:06 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-11-05 15:06 UTC close approach of 2004 VJ1. Catalogue miss distance 38.8 LD · 1.49 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-11-02 to 2026-11-08, 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
2026-11-05 15:06:00 Earth 0.0996 AU 38.8 LD 3.9 km/s
2027-02-13 03:43:00 Earth 0.1518 AU 59.1 LD 3.8 km/s
2037-06-15 19:59:00 Earth 0.1757 AU 68.4 LD 4.7 km/s
2037-10-27 12:29:00 Earth 0.1033 AU 40.2 LD 4 km/s
2038-02-21 13:15:00 Earth 0.1648 AU 64.1 LD 4.4 km/s
2047-05-09 17:13:00 Venus 0.1396 AU 54.3 LD 0.6 km/s
2048-07-06 16:07:00 Earth 0.1458 AU 56.7 LD 3.3 km/s
2048-10-05 09:04:00 Earth 0.0996 AU 38.8 LD 3.9 km/s
2049-03-11 09:37:00 Earth 0.1895 AU 73.7 LD 5.5 km/s
2049-04-05 18:25:00 Venus 0.0934 AU 36.3 LD 3.2 km/s

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

Sources