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Asteroid Near-Earth Potentially hazardous

2009 FU23

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(2009 FU23)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.043 AU
True anomaly
157.74°
Distance from Earth
1.934 AU
As of
19 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 2009 FU23 — 1.043 AU from the Sun 2009 FU23
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2009 FU23 is 1.934 AU from Earth today (16.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 43m 24s
Declination
+02° 46′ 03″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.93 AU
Elongation from the Sun
18.96° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
0.837 AU
Eccentricity
0.2822
Inclination
13.9°
Orbital period
279.8 days
Perihelion
0.601 AU
Aphelion
1.074 AU
Longitude of ascending node
57.72°
Argument of periapsis
315.27°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 12.9 LD
0.0333 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.962

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
226
Data arc
22.35 years
First observed
30 December 2002
Last observed
8 May 2025
Residual RMS
0.5 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
8 May 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
20.09

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object Potentially Hazardous Asteroid

Close approaches 88 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2009 FU23 at 2032-05-11 23:14 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2032-05-11 23:14 UTC close approach of 2009 FU23. Catalogue miss distance 27.4 LD · 1.05 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2032-05-08 to 2032-05-14, 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 27.4 LD · 1.05 × 10⁷ km 2032-05-11 23:14 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2032-05-11 23:14 UTC close approach of 2009 FU23. Catalogue miss distance 27.4 LD · 1.05 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2032-05-08 to 2032-05-14, 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
2028-01-28 06:52:00 Venus 0.1022 AU 39.8 LD 10.2 km/s
2031-02-09 03:22:00 Venus 0.1384 AU 53.9 LD 10.5 km/s
2032-05-11 23:14:00 Earth 0.0704 AU 27.4 LD 8.6 km/s
2037-01-28 10:27:00 Venus 0.1461 AU 56.8 LD 7.9 km/s
2040-02-29 20:46:00 Venus 0.1177 AU 45.8 LD 10 km/s
2042-05-09 20:36:00 Earth 0.167 AU 65.0 LD 13.9 km/s
2043-03-27 21:17:00 Venus 0.1367 AU 53.2 LD 13.6 km/s
2045-04-21 12:08:00 Earth 0.1917 AU 74.6 LD 7.7 km/s
2055-05-13 03:44:00 Earth 0.0538 AU 20.9 LD 10.7 km/s
2059-07-09 12:47:00 Venus 0.1298 AU 50.5 LD 15.7 km/s

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

Sources