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Asteroid Near-Earth

2016 AU65

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(2016 AU65)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.237 AU
True anomaly
169.13°
Distance from Earth
1.129 AU
As of
16 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 2016 AU65 — 1.237 AU from the Sun 2016 AU65
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2016 AU65 is 1.129 AU from Earth today (9.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 04m 10s
Declination
+19° 03′ 14″
Constellation
Cancer
Distance from Earth
1.12 AU
Elongation from the Sun
71.14° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
0.81 AU
Eccentricity
0.5619
Inclination
3.75°
Orbital period
266.2 days
Perihelion
0.355 AU
Aphelion
1.265 AU
Longitude of ascending node
295.6°
Argument of periapsis
338.18°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 7.3 LD
0.0188 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.076

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
73
Data arc
11.06 years
First observed
7 December 2012
Last observed
31 December 2023
Residual RMS
0.51 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
2 January 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
22.8

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 361 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2016 AU65 at 2027-01-27 08:33 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-01-27 08:33 UTC close approach of 2016 AU65. Catalogue miss distance 85.5 LD · 3.29 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-01-24 to 2027-01-30, 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 85.5 LD · 3.29 × 10⁷ km 2027-01-27 08:33 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-01-27 08:33 UTC close approach of 2016 AU65. Catalogue miss distance 85.5 LD · 3.29 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-01-24 to 2027-01-30, 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
2027-01-27 08:33:00 Earth 0.2198 AU 85.5 LD 23.5 km/s
2027-03-11 18:13:00 Mercury 0.0632 AU 24.6 LD 24.4 km/s
2027-03-11 18:13:00 Merc 0.0632 AU 24.6 LD 24.4 km/s
2027-12-06 06:13:00 Merc 0.0928 AU 36.1 LD 23.6 km/s
2027-12-06 06:13:00 Mercury 0.0928 AU 36.1 LD 23.6 km/s
2028-01-16 11:20:00 Venus 0.0835 AU 32.5 LD 22.4 km/s
2028-11-25 10:06:00 Earth 0.1815 AU 70.6 LD 12.6 km/s
2030-02-22 12:07:00 Merc 0.0961 AU 37.4 LD 23.5 km/s
2030-02-22 12:07:00 Mercury 0.0961 AU 37.4 LD 23.5 km/s
2030-11-19 05:52:00 Merc 0.0706 AU 27.5 LD 24.5 km/s

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

Sources