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Asteroid Near-Earth

2008 QU3

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(2008 QU3)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.901 AU
True anomaly
247.41°
Distance from Earth
0.759 AU
As of
20 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 2008 QU3 — 0.901 AU from the Sun 2008 QU3
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2008 QU3 is 0.759 AU from Earth today (6.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
10h 20m 59s
Declination
+24° 14′ 10″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
0.76 AU
Elongation from the Sun
60.03° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
0.869 AU
Eccentricity
0.2477
Inclination
14.06°
Orbital period
295.8 days
Perihelion
0.654 AU
Aphelion
1.084 AU
Longitude of ascending node
303.52°
Argument of periapsis
241.43°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 25.4 LD
0.0652 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.757

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
140
Data arc
17.07 years
First observed
22 August 2008
Last observed
16 September 2025
Residual RMS
0.53 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
16 September 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
20.72

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 72 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2008 QU3 at 2038-08-01 11:09 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2038-08-01 11:09 UTC close approach of 2008 QU3. Catalogue miss distance 76.0 LD · 2.92 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2038-07-29 to 2038-08-04, 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 north of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 76.0 LD · 2.92 × 10⁷ km 2038-08-01 11:09 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2038-08-01 11:09 UTC close approach of 2008 QU3. Catalogue miss distance 76.0 LD · 2.92 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2038-07-29 to 2038-08-04, 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 north 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
2035-03-23 08:26:00 Venus 0.1157 AU 45.0 LD 12.6 km/s
2037-06-04 12:36:00 Venus 0.0484 AU 18.8 LD 11.7 km/s
2038-08-01 11:09:00 Earth 0.1954 AU 76.0 LD 7.2 km/s
2042-08-11 23:23:00 Earth 0.1384 AU 53.9 LD 12.5 km/s
2053-01-26 11:07:00 Venus 0.1367 AU 53.2 LD 11 km/s
2055-04-04 20:19:00 Venus 0.0554 AU 21.6 LD 14.2 km/s
2055-08-03 22:08:00 Earth 0.1001 AU 39.0 LD 8.3 km/s
2068-06-11 12:44:00 Venus 0.115 AU 44.8 LD 12 km/s
2068-12-12 12:17:00 Earth 0.1931 AU 75.2 LD 10.2 km/s
2070-08-23 08:32:00 Venus 0.0302 AU 11.8 LD 12.4 km/s

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

Sources