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Asteroid Near-Earth

2016 FT14

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(2016 FT14)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.981 AU
True anomaly
225.15°
Distance from Earth
1.861 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 2016 FT14 — 0.981 AU from the Sun 2016 FT14
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2016 FT14 is 1.861 AU from Earth today (15.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 58m 16s
Declination
-15° 06′ 55″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
1.86 AU
Elongation from the Sun
19.45° — 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
0.859 AU
Eccentricity
0.259
Inclination
4.32°
Orbital period
290.9 days
Perihelion
0.637 AU
Aphelion
1.082 AU
Longitude of ascending node
196.68°
Argument of periapsis
183.82°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 17.6 LD
0.0451 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.839

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
69
Data arc
8.13 years
First observed
31 March 2016
Last observed
18 May 2024
Residual RMS
0.6 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
18 May 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.69

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 203 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2016 FT14 at 2027-11-28 05:33 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-11-28 05:33 UTC close approach of 2016 FT14. Catalogue miss distance 122.6 LD · 4.71 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-11-25 to 2027-12-01, 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 122.6 LD · 4.71 × 10⁷ km 2027-11-28 05:33 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-11-28 05:33 UTC close approach of 2016 FT14. Catalogue miss distance 122.6 LD · 4.71 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-11-25 to 2027-12-01, 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
2027-11-28 05:33:00 Earth 0.3149 AU 122.6 LD 9.5 km/s
2028-05-18 11:17:00 Earth 0.0898 AU 35.0 LD 8.7 km/s
2028-08-15 16:00:00 Venus 0.0976 AU 38.0 LD 8 km/s
2031-11-10 16:40:00 Earth 0.3414 AU 132.9 LD 11.2 km/s
2032-05-16 19:04:00 Earth 0.2008 AU 78.1 LD 12.4 km/s
2034-04-16 06:20:00 Venus 0.0792 AU 30.8 LD 11.3 km/s
2035-10-25 07:50:00 Earth 0.3567 AU 138.8 LD 12.1 km/s
2036-05-13 01:30:00 Earth 0.3184 AU 123.9 LD 16.2 km/s
2039-03-11 00:21:00 Earth 0.4637 AU 180.5 LD 20.9 km/s
2039-10-09 16:30:00 Earth 0.3624 AU 141.1 LD 12.4 km/s

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

Sources