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Asteroid Near-Earth

2016 FA

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(2016 FA)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.071 AU
True anomaly
182.26°
Distance from Earth
2.021 AU
As of
23 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 — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth 2016 FA — 1.071 AU from the Sun 2016 FA
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2016 FA is 2.021 AU from Earth today (16.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 37m 30s
Declination
-19° 20′ 30″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
2.02 AU
Elongation from the Sun
12.32° — too close to the Sun to observe

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.

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
0.965 AU
Eccentricity
0.1103
Inclination
9.09°
Orbital period
346 days
Perihelion
0.858 AU
Aphelion
1.071 AU
Longitude of ascending node
2.58°
Argument of periapsis
48.73°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 10.8 LD
0.0278 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.24

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 2).

Observations used
154
Data arc
41 days
First observed
16 March 2016
Last observed
26 April 2016
Residual RMS
0.35 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Physical properties

Rotation period
7.8 hours

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.3

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 71 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2016 FA at 2033-03-17 06:32 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2033-03-17 06:32 UTC close approach of 2016 FA. Catalogue miss distance 120.6 LD · 4.63 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2033-03-14 to 2033-03-20, 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. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 120.6 LD · 4.63 × 10⁷ km 2033-03-17 06:32 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2033-03-17 06:32 UTC close approach of 2016 FA. Catalogue miss distance 120.6 LD · 4.63 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2033-03-14 to 2033-03-20, 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. 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
2033-03-17 06:32:00 Earth 0.3098 AU 120.6 LD 12.8 km/s
2034-03-20 00:13:00 Earth 0.029 AU 11.3 LD 5.2 km/s
2034-10-06 21:24:00 Earth 0.1304 AU 50.8 LD 5.9 km/s
2035-07-28 04:24:00 Earth 0.1867 AU 72.7 LD 7.6 km/s
2036-06-28 15:09:00 Earth 0.4679 AU 182.1 LD 16.2 km/s
2051-03-15 02:28:00 Earth 0.2232 AU 86.9 LD 10.3 km/s
2052-04-02 13:45:00 Earth 0.0901 AU 35.1 LD 5 km/s
2052-09-14 21:39:00 Earth 0.1091 AU 42.4 LD 5.8 km/s
2053-07-15 12:45:00 Earth 0.2587 AU 100.7 LD 9.7 km/s
2068-03-20 00:41:00 Earth 0.4107 AU 159.8 LD 15.7 km/s

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

Sources