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Asteroid Near-Earth

2016 HK

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(2016 HK)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.061 AU
True anomaly
193.52°
Distance from Earth
2.01 AU
As of
21 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 HK — 1.061 AU from the Sun 2016 HK
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2016 HK is 2.01 AU from Earth today (16.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 08m 20s
Declination
-03° 00′ 42″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
2.01 AU
Elongation from the Sun
12.52° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
0.92 AU
Eccentricity
0.1589
Inclination
12.37°
Orbital period
322.3 days
Perihelion
0.774 AU
Aphelion
1.066 AU
Longitude of ascending node
42.31°
Argument of periapsis
308.79°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 3.8 LD
0.0097 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.467

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
65
Data arc
21 days
First observed
12 April 2016
Last observed
3 May 2016
Residual RMS
0.34 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.8

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 121 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2016 HK at 2030-01-19 00:09 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-01-19 00:09 UTC close approach of 2016 HK. Catalogue miss distance 182.4 LD · 7.01 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-01-16 to 2030-01-22, 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 182.4 LD · 7.01 × 10⁷ km 2030-01-19 00:09 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-01-19 00:09 UTC close approach of 2016 HK. Catalogue miss distance 182.4 LD · 7.01 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-01-16 to 2030-01-22, 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
2030-01-19 00:09:00 Earth 0.4687 AU 182.4 LD 18.6 km/s
2030-10-21 04:58:00 Earth 0.2145 AU 83.5 LD 8.7 km/s
2031-05-01 16:58:00 Earth 0.0168 AU 6.5 LD 7.9 km/s
2037-11-30 20:12:00 Earth 0.1515 AU 58.9 LD 8.3 km/s
2038-04-08 11:50:00 Earth 0.1939 AU 75.5 LD 6.6 km/s
2045-01-01 05:25:00 Earth 0.2496 AU 97.1 LD 11.5 km/s
2045-08-31 22:54:00 Earth 0.2917 AU 113.5 LD 7.8 km/s
2046-04-24 00:39:00 Earth 0.2891 AU 112.5 LD 14.7 km/s
2052-01-19 17:45:00 Earth 0.451 AU 175.5 LD 17.9 km/s
2052-10-15 06:23:00 Earth 0.2284 AU 88.9 LD 8.8 km/s

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

Sources