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Asteroid Near-Earth

2004 XG

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(2004 XG)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.703 AU
True anomaly
286.14°
Distance from Earth
1.697 AU
As of
19 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 2004 XG — 0.703 AU from the Sun 2004 XG
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2004 XG is 1.697 AU from Earth today (14.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 47m 33s
Declination
-11° 35′ 39″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.7 AU
Elongation from the Sun
2.54° — 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.

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
0.837 AU
Eccentricity
0.2987
Inclination
1.2°
Orbital period
279.5 days
Perihelion
0.587 AU
Aphelion
1.086 AU
Longitude of ascending node
283.62°
Argument of periapsis
2.45°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 4.9 LD
0.0127 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.985

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
96
Data arc
20.19 years
First observed
2 December 2004
Last observed
8 February 2025
Residual RMS
0.45 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
27 February 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.16

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 125 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2004 XG at 2027-12-08 12:16 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-12-08 12:16 UTC close approach of 2004 XG. Catalogue miss distance 24.6 LD · 9.45 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-12-05 to 2027-12-11, 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 24.6 LD · 9.45 × 10⁶ km 2027-12-08 12:16 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-12-08 12:16 UTC close approach of 2004 XG. Catalogue miss distance 24.6 LD · 9.45 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-12-05 to 2027-12-11, 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
2027-12-08 12:16:00 Earth 0.0632 AU 24.6 LD 6.4 km/s
2038-02-16 00:13:00 Earth 0.0277 AU 10.8 LD 8.6 km/s
2038-06-19 23:52:00 Venus 0.0634 AU 24.7 LD 11.9 km/s
2040-12-11 23:20:00 Earth 0.0734 AU 28.6 LD 6.3 km/s
2041-06-22 01:33:00 Venus 0.1197 AU 46.6 LD 8 km/s
2044-06-18 11:31:00 Venus 0.1429 AU 55.6 LD 10 km/s
2047-06-14 23:26:00 Venus 0.0909 AU 35.4 LD 7.9 km/s
2050-06-25 00:29:00 Venus 0.0824 AU 32.1 LD 13.7 km/s
2051-02-15 19:23:00 Earth 0.1335 AU 52.0 LD 12.2 km/s
2054-01-11 12:52:00 Earth 0.1009 AU 39.3 LD 6.4 km/s

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

Sources