2008 LH2 is an asteroid in the Aten orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.71 AU to 1.25 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 354 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 0.993 AU
- True anomaly
- 108.76°
- Distance from Earth
- 1.89 AU
- As of
- 24 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.
In the sky
- Right ascension
- 15h 08m 53s
- Declination
- -17° 44′ 30″
- Constellation
- Libra
- Distance from Earth
- 1.89 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 17.95° — too close to the Sun to observe
Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.
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.
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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
- 0.979 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.276
- Inclination
- 5.77°
- Orbital period
- 354 days
- Perihelion
- 0.709 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.25 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 249.26°
- Argument of periapsis
- 249.21°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · ATE
- Aten
- Earth MOID · 1.4 LD
- 0.0037 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 6.143
Orbit quality
Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).
- Observations used
- 92
- Data arc
- 37 days
- First observed
- 4 June 2008
- Last observed
- 11 July 2008
- Residual RMS
- 0.44 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 15 April 2021
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 24.4
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 63 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2037-06-16 22:26 UTC close approach of 2008 LH2. Catalogue miss distance 145.8 LD · 5.6 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2037-06-13 to 2037-06-19, 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.
| When (UTC) | Body | Distance | Lunar distances | Relative speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2034-04-15 16:31:00 | Venus | 0.1268 AU | 49.4 LD | 12.9 km/s |
| 2037-06-16 22:26:00 | Earth | 0.3745 AU | 145.8 LD | 19.3 km/s |
| 2038-06-08 22:58:00 | Earth | 0.1855 AU | 72.2 LD | 13.7 km/s |
| 2039-06-02 09:06:00 | Earth | 0.0063 AU | 2.4 LD | 8.3 km/s |
| 2039-06-02 20:37:00 | Moon | 0.0079 AU | 3.1 LD | 7.7 km/s |
| 2040-04-11 00:04:00 | Earth | 0.2271 AU | 88.4 LD | 6.2 km/s |
| 2040-07-04 00:53:00 | Earth | 0.2004 AU | 78.0 LD | 6.1 km/s |
| 2041-01-19 04:11:00 | Venus | 0.1218 AU | 47.4 LD | 12.9 km/s |
| 2041-02-24 01:18:00 | Earth | 0.2901 AU | 112.9 LD | 9.6 km/s |
| 2041-08-13 23:23:00 | Earth | 0.2529 AU | 98.4 LD | 6.7 km/s |
Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.
Sources
- visual properties: JPL SBDB (lookup)
- orbital elements: JPL SBDB