2009 PC is an asteroid in the Aten orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.65 AU to 1.34 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 362.9 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 1.285 AU
- True anomaly
- 202.65°
- Distance from Earth
- 0.44 AU
- As of
- 2 November 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.
In the sky
- Right ascension
- 23h 38m 43s
- Declination
- -23° 52′ 31″
- Constellation
- Aquarius
- Distance from Earth
- 0.44 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 121.78° — well clear of the Sun
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.
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
- 0.996 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.3427
- Inclination
- 7.09°
- Orbital period
- 362.9 days
- Perihelion
- 0.654 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.337 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 134.23°
- Argument of periapsis
- 48.2°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · ATE
- Aten
- Earth MOID · 14.8 LD
- 0.0381 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 6.042
Orbit quality
Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).
- Observations used
- 33
- Data arc
- 18 days
- First observed
- 1 August 2009
- Last observed
- 19 August 2009
- Residual RMS
- 0.74 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 15 April 2021
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 23.16
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 57 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2040-12-14 01:03 UTC close approach of 2009 PC. Catalogue miss distance 46.9 LD · 1.8 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2040-12-11 to 2040-12-17, 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.
| When (UTC) | Body | Distance | Lunar distances | Relative speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2037-07-23 02:27:00 | Mars | 0.0936 AU | 36.4 LD | 6.8 km/s |
| 2040-12-14 01:03:00 | Earth | 0.1205 AU | 46.9 LD | 8.8 km/s |
| 2041-12-12 02:29:00 | Earth | 0.1066 AU | 41.5 LD | 9.8 km/s |
| 2042-12-10 10:25:00 | Earth | 0.1027 AU | 40.0 LD | 10.8 km/s |
| 2043-12-08 21:43:00 | Earth | 0.11 AU | 42.8 LD | 11.8 km/s |
| 2044-12-06 08:29:00 | Earth | 0.1272 AU | 49.5 LD | 12.8 km/s |
| 2045-12-04 19:27:00 | Earth | 0.1521 AU | 59.2 LD | 14 km/s |
| 2046-12-03 03:50:00 | Earth | 0.1837 AU | 71.5 LD | 15.2 km/s |
| 2047-12-01 10:54:00 | Earth | 0.2192 AU | 85.3 LD | 16.4 km/s |
| 2048-11-28 17:46:00 | Earth | 0.2571 AU | 100.1 LD | 17.7 km/s |
Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.
Sources
- visual properties: JPL SBDB (lookup)
- orbital elements: JPL SBDB