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Asteroid Near-Earth

2007 VB138

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(2007 VB138)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.104 AU
True anomaly
182.81°
Distance from Earth
0.126 AU
As of
16 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 — 0.997 AU from the Sun Earth 2007 VB138 — 1.104 AU from the Sun 2007 VB138
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2007 VB138 is 0.126 AU from Earth today (1.0 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
03h 37m 34s
Declination
+04° 55′ 39″
Constellation
Taurus
Distance from Earth
0.13 AU
Elongation from the Sun
147.49° — 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
0.772 AU
Eccentricity
0.4308
Inclination
6.01°
Orbital period
248 days
Perihelion
0.44 AU
Aphelion
1.105 AU
Longitude of ascending node
41.96°
Argument of periapsis
161.75°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 9.5 LD
0.0244 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.428

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
27
Data arc
3 days
First observed
9 November 2007
Last observed
12 November 2007
Residual RMS
0.82 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
26.1

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 90 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2007 VB138 at 2030-09-17 07:13 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-09-17 07:13 UTC close approach of 2007 VB138. Catalogue miss distance 53.8 LD · 2.07 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-09-14 to 2030-09-20, 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 south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 53.8 LD · 2.07 × 10⁷ km 2030-09-17 07:13 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-09-17 07:13 UTC close approach of 2007 VB138. Catalogue miss distance 53.8 LD · 2.07 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-09-14 to 2030-09-20, 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 south 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
2027-11-27 23:22:00 Venus 0.0444 AU 17.3 LD 14.7 km/s
2030-09-17 07:13:00 Earth 0.1382 AU 53.8 LD 14.1 km/s
2032-06-12 18:39:00 Venus 0.1499 AU 58.3 LD 22.5 km/s
2032-09-22 13:12:00 Earth 0.3313 AU 128.9 LD 21 km/s
2039-03-26 16:00:00 Venus 0.0571 AU 22.2 LD 14 km/s
2039-11-09 03:21:00 Earth 0.4222 AU 164.3 LD 24.5 km/s
2041-11-16 14:01:00 Earth 0.2076 AU 80.8 LD 17.3 km/s
2134-11-14 17:11:00 Earth 0.3101 AU 120.7 LD 20.7 km/s
2136-11-19 22:04:00 Earth 0.1128 AU 43.9 LD 14 km/s
2182-09-21 11:02:00 Earth 0.2396 AU 93.2 LD 17.9 km/s

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

Sources