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Asteroid Near-Earth

2015 QM3

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(2015 QM3)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.051 AU
True anomaly
167.18°
Distance from Earth
1.445 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 2015 QM3 — 1.051 AU from the Sun 2015 QM3
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2015 QM3 is 1.445 AU from Earth today (12.0 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
16h 35m 08s
Declination
-13° 19′ 37″
Constellation
Ophiuchus
Distance from Earth
1.45 AU
Elongation from the Sun
46.58° — 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
0.706 AU
Eccentricity
0.5312
Inclination
16.15°
Orbital period
216.7 days
Perihelion
0.331 AU
Aphelion
1.081 AU
Longitude of ascending node
159.68°
Argument of periapsis
324.65°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 23.5 LD
0.0605 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.97

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
171
Data arc
9.08 years
First observed
6 July 2015
Last observed
3 August 2024
Residual RMS
0.46 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
4 August 2024

Physical properties

Mean radius
0.13 km

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.189
Absolute magnitude (H)
20.38

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 255 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2015 QM3 at 2028-07-10 07:14 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-07-10 07:14 UTC close approach of 2015 QM3. Catalogue miss distance 102.6 LD · 3.94 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-07-07 to 2028-07-13, 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 102.6 LD · 3.94 × 10⁷ km 2028-07-10 07:14 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-07-10 07:14 UTC close approach of 2015 QM3. Catalogue miss distance 102.6 LD · 3.94 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-07-07 to 2028-07-13, 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
2028-05-08 13:06:00 Mercury 0.0229 AU 8.9 LD 19.8 km/s
2028-05-08 13:06:00 Merc 0.0229 AU 8.9 LD 19.8 km/s
2028-07-10 07:14:00 Earth 0.2636 AU 102.6 LD 14.8 km/s
2031-07-27 18:03:00 Earth 0.2046 AU 79.6 LD 11.6 km/s
2034-02-20 21:38:00 Venus 0.1034 AU 40.2 LD 16.8 km/s
2034-08-18 23:02:00 Earth 0.1109 AU 43.2 LD 11.9 km/s
2034-10-01 13:03:00 Venus 0.0556 AU 21.6 LD 23 km/s
2036-01-25 02:40:00 Merc 0.0193 AU 7.5 LD 21.8 km/s
2036-01-25 02:40:00 Mercury 0.0193 AU 7.5 LD 21.8 km/s
2037-08-22 17:29:00 Earth 0.0958 AU 37.3 LD 15.8 km/s

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

Sources