Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2009 HU44

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2009 HU44)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.275 AU
True anomaly
163.98°
Distance from Earth
2.222 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 HU44 — 1.275 AU from the Sun 2009 HU44
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2009 HU44 is 2.222 AU from Earth today (18.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 31m 33s
Declination
-13° 41′ 32″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
2.22 AU
Elongation from the Sun
13.53° — 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
0.83 AU
Eccentricity
0.6441
Inclination
6.64°
Orbital period
276.3 days
Perihelion
0.296 AU
Aphelion
1.365 AU
Longitude of ascending node
212.83°
Argument of periapsis
213.67°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 2.4 LD
0.0062 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.874

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
63
Data arc
21 days
First observed
22 April 2009
Last observed
13 May 2009
Residual RMS
0.52 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
22.6

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 158 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2009 HU44 at 2028-05-18 20:31 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-05-18 20:31 UTC close approach of 2009 HU44. Catalogue miss distance 135.6 LD · 5.21 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-05-15 to 2028-05-21, 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 135.6 LD · 5.21 × 10⁷ km 2028-05-18 20:31 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-05-18 20:31 UTC close approach of 2009 HU44. Catalogue miss distance 135.6 LD · 5.21 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-05-15 to 2028-05-21, 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
2028-05-18 20:31:00 Earth 0.3484 AU 135.6 LD 14.3 km/s
2030-12-24 05:45:00 Venus 0.1424 AU 55.4 LD 20.6 km/s
2031-05-08 14:19:00 Earth 0.3051 AU 118.8 LD 14.1 km/s
2032-06-18 00:10:00 Earth 0.4509 AU 175.5 LD 32.6 km/s
2034-04-27 09:17:00 Earth 0.2249 AU 87.5 LD 14.1 km/s
2035-06-24 23:04:00 Earth 0.318 AU 123.7 LD 27.9 km/s
2035-09-12 14:57:00 Venus 0.1023 AU 39.8 LD 28 km/s
2037-04-20 05:30:00 Earth 0.1082 AU 42.1 LD 15.7 km/s
2038-06-30 07:21:00 Earth 0.1921 AU 74.8 LD 23.3 km/s
2040-04-20 09:42:00 Earth 0.0285 AU 11.1 LD 19.4 km/s

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

Sources