Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2005 KA

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2005 KA)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.943 AU
True anomaly
133.98°
Distance from Earth
1.893 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 2005 KA — 0.943 AU from the Sun 2005 KA
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2005 KA is 1.893 AU from Earth today (15.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 52m 39s
Declination
-06° 43′ 46″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.89 AU
Elongation from the Sun
12.05° — 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
0.842 AU
Eccentricity
0.2127
Inclination
2.97°
Orbital period
282 days
Perihelion
0.662 AU
Aphelion
1.021 AU
Longitude of ascending node
224.88°
Argument of periapsis
182.77°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 4.5 LD
0.0115 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.968

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
69
Data arc
9.98 years
First observed
12 May 2005
Last observed
6 May 2015
Residual RMS
0.55 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
14 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.7

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 133 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2005 KA at 2028-11-18 12:38 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-11-18 12:38 UTC close approach of 2005 KA. Catalogue miss distance 126.4 LD · 4.86 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-11-15 to 2028-11-21, 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 126.4 LD · 4.86 × 10⁷ km 2028-11-18 12:38 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-11-18 12:38 UTC close approach of 2005 KA. Catalogue miss distance 126.4 LD · 4.86 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-11-15 to 2028-11-21, 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
2028-03-05 04:32:00 Venus 0.0931 AU 36.2 LD 10.3 km/s
2028-11-18 12:38:00 Earth 0.3248 AU 126.4 LD 10.2 km/s
2032-05-20 23:14:00 Earth 0.0147 AU 5.7 LD 4 km/s
2035-04-15 04:31:00 Earth 0.3855 AU 150.0 LD 16.1 km/s
2035-10-01 01:06:00 Earth 0.314 AU 122.2 LD 9.1 km/s
2038-12-08 10:22:00 Earth 0.3128 AU 121.7 LD 9.5 km/s
2039-05-28 02:51:00 Earth 0.3833 AU 149.2 LD 16.1 km/s
2042-04-19 11:15:00 Earth 0.0129 AU 5.0 LD 4 km/s
2045-10-22 21:00:00 Earth 0.3261 AU 126.9 LD 10.2 km/s
2049-01-14 18:40:00 Earth 0.2519 AU 98.1 LD 6 km/s

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

Sources