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Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2011 KY15

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(2011 KY15)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.461 AU
True anomaly
260.06°
Distance from Earth
0.829 AU
As of
15 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 2011 KY15 — 0.461 AU from the Sun 2011 KY15
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2011 KY15 is 0.829 AU from Earth today (6.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
15h 12m 21s
Declination
-08° 21′ 57″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
0.82 AU
Elongation from the Sun
26.46° — 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
0.649 AU
Eccentricity
0.603
Inclination
16.87°
Orbital period
190.8 days
Perihelion
0.258 AU
Aphelion
1.04 AU
Longitude of ascending node
242.95°
Argument of periapsis
185.77°
Epoch · J2000
2455710.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 6.5 LD
0.0167 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
8.561

Orbit quality

Orbit very uncertain — the object may be effectively lost (uncertainty code 8).

Observations used
29
Data arc
6 days
First observed
27 May 2011
Last observed
2 June 2011
Residual RMS
0.51 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.42

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 90 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2011 KY15 at 2070-05-17 11:03 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2070-05-17 11:03 UTC close approach of 2011 KY15. Catalogue miss distance 80.1 LD · 3.08 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2070-05-14 to 2070-05-20, 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. Sun 80.1 LD · 3.08 × 10⁷ km 2070-05-17 11:03 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2070-05-17 11:03 UTC close approach of 2011 KY15. Catalogue miss distance 80.1 LD · 3.08 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2070-05-14 to 2070-05-20, 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.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2070-05-17 11:03:00 Earth 0.2059 AU 80.1 LD 19.3 km/s
2078-06-07 05:07:00 Earth 0.3621 AU 140.9 LD 24.1 km/s
2079-06-11 11:33:00 Earth 0.1602 AU 62.3 LD 16.4 km/s
2081-05-16 12:01:00 Earth 0.1058 AU 41.2 LD 15.9 km/s
2082-05-20 22:51:00 Earth 0.3229 AU 125.7 LD 23.4 km/s
2089-06-02 15:59:00 Earth 0.4722 AU 183.8 LD 28.3 km/s
2090-06-10 11:35:00 Earth 0.2559 AU 99.6 LD 20.1 km/s
2091-06-07 18:21:00 Earth 0.0895 AU 34.8 LD 13.9 km/s
2091-08-26 03:58:00 Mercury 0.0761 AU 29.6 LD 31.6 km/s
2091-08-26 03:58:00 Merc 0.0761 AU 29.6 LD 31.6 km/s

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

Sources