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Asteroid Near-Earth

2008 MG1

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(2008 MG1)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.586 AU
True anomaly
226.32°
Distance from Earth
0.824 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 2008 MG1 — 0.586 AU from the Sun 2008 MG1
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2008 MG1 is 0.824 AU from Earth today (6.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
15h 46m 22s
Declination
-21° 33′ 54″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
0.82 AU
Elongation from the Sun
35.43° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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.

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
0.783 AU
Eccentricity
0.8227
Inclination
5.73°
Orbital period
253.3 days
Perihelion
0.139 AU
Aphelion
1.428 AU
Longitude of ascending node
352.1°
Argument of periapsis
109.18°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 28.6 LD
0.0735 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.081

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
65
Data arc
17.99 years
First observed
27 June 2008
Last observed
23 June 2026
Residual RMS
0.44 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
24 June 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
19.86

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 279 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2008 MG1 at 2030-06-08 09:45 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-06-08 09:45 UTC close approach of 2008 MG1. Catalogue miss distance 39.9 LD · 1.53 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-06-05 to 2030-06-11, 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. 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 6 Jun 10 Jun 39.9 LD · 1.53 × 10⁷ km 2030-06-08 09:45 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-06-08 09:45 UTC close approach of 2008 MG1. Catalogue miss distance 39.9 LD · 1.53 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-06-05 to 2030-06-11, 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. 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
2026-10-25 12:32:00 Mercury 0.0367 AU 14.3 LD 36 km/s
2026-10-25 12:32:00 Merc 0.0367 AU 14.3 LD 36 km/s
2030-06-08 09:45:00 Earth 0.1026 AU 39.9 LD 25.2 km/s
2031-01-14 19:26:00 Mercury 0.0468 AU 18.2 LD 33.8 km/s
2031-01-14 19:26:00 Merc 0.0468 AU 18.2 LD 33.8 km/s
2031-07-28 20:54:00 Earth 0.0789 AU 30.7 LD 25.5 km/s
2031-08-14 00:16:00 Venus 0.0819 AU 31.9 LD 29.2 km/s
2032-05-13 02:15:00 Mercury 0.0946 AU 36.8 LD 24.4 km/s
2032-05-13 02:15:00 Merc 0.0946 AU 36.8 LD 24.4 km/s
2034-07-20 09:15:00 Venus 0.1197 AU 46.6 LD 28.7 km/s

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

Sources