Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2016 GK135

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2016 GK135)

2016 GK135 is an asteroid in the Aten orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.9 AU to 1.07 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 357.2 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.925 AU
True anomaly
48.72°
Distance from Earth
1.261 AU
As of
2 November 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 — 0.992 AU from the Sun Earth 2016 GK135 — 0.925 AU from the Sun 2016 GK135
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2016 GK135 is 1.261 AU from Earth today (10.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 42m 54s
Declination
+04° 18′ 50″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.26 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
0.985 AU
Eccentricity
0.0869
Inclination
3.2°
Orbital period
357.2 days
Perihelion
0.9 AU
Aphelion
1.071 AU
Longitude of ascending node
18.01°
Argument of periapsis
55.76°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 6.8 LD
0.0175 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.147

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).

Observations used
23
Data arc
9 days
First observed
5 April 2016
Last observed
14 April 2016
Residual RMS
0.37 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
28.1

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 46 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2016 GK135 at 2058-04-03 07:27 UTC Sun 160.3 LD · 6.16 × 10⁷ km 2058-04-03 07:27 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2058-04-03 07:27 UTC close approach of 2016 GK135. Catalogue miss distance 160.3 LD · 6.16 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2058-03-31 to 2058-04-06, 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
2058-04-03 07:27:00 Earth 0.412 AU 160.3 LD 14.5 km/s
2059-03-28 06:33:00 Earth 0.2777 AU 108.1 LD 10.5 km/s
2060-03-21 23:21:00 Earth 0.1445 AU 56.2 LD 6.6 km/s
2061-03-21 20:14:00 Earth 0.0237 AU 9.2 LD 3 km/s
2062-01-29 10:50:00 Earth 0.081 AU 31.5 LD 1.5 km/s
2062-04-24 00:18:00 Earth 0.0576 AU 22.4 LD 2.2 km/s
2062-11-24 01:03:00 Earth 0.0893 AU 34.7 LD 2.7 km/s
2063-06-26 12:40:00 Earth 0.0784 AU 30.5 LD 1.8 km/s
2063-10-06 10:28:00 Earth 0.061 AU 23.8 LD 2.5 km/s
2064-08-26 19:43:00 Earth 0.0463 AU 18.0 LD 3.1 km/s

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

Sources