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Asteroid Near-Earth

2011 DW

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(2011 DW)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.632 AU
True anomaly
326.24°
Distance from Earth
1.305 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 2011 DW — 0.632 AU from the Sun 2011 DW
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2011 DW is 1.305 AU from Earth today (10.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
15h 32m 18s
Declination
-08° 30′ 15″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
1.3 AU
Elongation from the Sun
28.02° — 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
0.84 AU
Eccentricity
0.2753
Inclination
25.08°
Orbital period
281.1 days
Perihelion
0.609 AU
Aphelion
1.071 AU
Longitude of ascending node
159.52°
Argument of periapsis
152.56°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 13.0 LD
0.0335 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.895

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
205
Data arc
10.03 years
First observed
23 February 2011
Last observed
6 March 2021
Residual RMS
0.55 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
1 August 2022

Physical properties

Rotation period
0.37 hours

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
22.7

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 199 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2011 DW at 2027-08-19 04:44 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-08-19 04:44 UTC close approach of 2011 DW. Catalogue miss distance 159.1 LD · 6.12 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-08-16 to 2027-08-22, 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 159.1 LD · 6.12 × 10⁷ km 2027-08-19 04:44 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-08-19 04:44 UTC close approach of 2011 DW. Catalogue miss distance 159.1 LD · 6.12 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-08-16 to 2027-08-22, 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
2027-08-19 04:44:00 Earth 0.4089 AU 159.1 LD 20.1 km/s
2028-02-25 18:42:00 Earth 0.395 AU 153.7 LD 22.5 km/s
2029-03-11 00:10:00 Venus 0.1086 AU 42.3 LD 17.8 km/s
2030-10-06 03:59:00 Earth 0.372 AU 144.8 LD 17.9 km/s
2031-03-01 14:53:00 Earth 0.0529 AU 20.6 LD 13.3 km/s
2032-04-09 02:23:00 Venus 0.0999 AU 38.9 LD 17.9 km/s
2034-02-01 20:11:00 Earth 0.4085 AU 159.0 LD 15.3 km/s
2034-07-02 06:39:00 Earth 0.4903 AU 190.8 LD 16.5 km/s
2035-05-09 14:53:00 Venus 0.0919 AU 35.7 LD 18.1 km/s
2037-08-22 15:15:00 Earth 0.4014 AU 156.2 LD 20 km/s

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

Sources