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Asteroid Near-Earth

2009 BH2

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(2009 BH2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.181 AU
True anomaly
168.65°
Distance from Earth
1.894 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 2009 BH2 — 1.181 AU from the Sun 2009 BH2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2009 BH2 is 1.894 AU from Earth today (15.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 42m 32s
Declination
+09° 36′ 26″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.89 AU
Elongation from the Sun
32.65° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
0.814 AU
Eccentricity
0.4758
Inclination
23.19°
Orbital period
268.3 days
Perihelion
0.427 AU
Aphelion
1.202 AU
Longitude of ascending node
117.08°
Argument of periapsis
221°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 0.3 LD
0.0007 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.031

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
170
Data arc
14.04 years
First observed
17 January 2009
Last observed
1 February 2023
Residual RMS
0.41 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
17 February 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
22.57

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 97 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2009 BH2 at 2031-01-21 04:11 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2031-01-21 04:11 UTC close approach of 2009 BH2. Catalogue miss distance 59.0 LD · 2.27 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2031-01-18 to 2031-01-24, 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 59.0 LD · 2.27 × 10⁷ km 2031-01-21 04:11 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2031-01-21 04:11 UTC close approach of 2009 BH2. Catalogue miss distance 59.0 LD · 2.27 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2031-01-18 to 2031-01-24, 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
2031-01-21 04:11:00 Earth 0.1517 AU 59.0 LD 21 km/s
2031-08-10 04:33:00 Mercury 0.0193 AU 7.5 LD 21 km/s
2031-08-10 04:33:00 Merc 0.0193 AU 7.5 LD 21 km/s
2034-01-21 11:47:00 Earth 0.1819 AU 70.8 LD 14 km/s
2045-01-17 10:11:00 Earth 0.0754 AU 29.3 LD 15.5 km/s
2045-07-23 22:00:00 Merc 0.0874 AU 34.0 LD 23.4 km/s
2045-07-23 22:00:00 Mercury 0.0874 AU 34.0 LD 23.4 km/s
2046-04-20 15:54:00 Mercury 0.0288 AU 11.2 LD 21.3 km/s
2046-04-20 15:54:00 Merc 0.0288 AU 11.2 LD 21.3 km/s
2056-01-18 11:52:00 Earth 0.0206 AU 8.0 LD 17.6 km/s

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

Sources