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Asteroid Near-Earth

2016 RA34

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(2016 RA34)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.144 AU
True anomaly
145.82°
Distance from Earth
0.487 AU
As of
22 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 RA34 — 1.144 AU from the Sun 2016 RA34
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2016 RA34 is 0.487 AU from Earth today (4.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
20h 25m 33s
Declination
-18° 17′ 12″
Constellation
Capricornus
Distance from Earth
0.49 AU
Elongation from the Sun
94.78° — well clear of the Sun

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
0.942 AU
Eccentricity
0.308
Inclination
3.62°
Orbital period
333.8 days
Perihelion
0.652 AU
Aphelion
1.232 AU
Longitude of ascending node
358.07°
Argument of periapsis
220.35°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 8.1 LD
0.0207 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.333

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).

Observations used
41
Data arc
27 days
First observed
6 September 2016
Last observed
3 October 2016
Residual RMS
0.43 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.5

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 139 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2016 RA34 at 2027-07-25 03:18 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-07-25 03:18 UTC close approach of 2016 RA34. Catalogue miss distance 93.8 LD · 3.61 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-07-22 to 2027-07-28, 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 93.8 LD · 3.61 × 10⁷ km 2027-07-25 03:18 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-07-25 03:18 UTC close approach of 2016 RA34. Catalogue miss distance 93.8 LD · 3.61 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-07-22 to 2027-07-28, 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
2027-07-25 03:18:00 Earth 0.241 AU 93.8 LD 5.1 km/s
2027-09-29 03:52:00 Earth 0.1887 AU 73.4 LD 7 km/s
2028-03-29 18:41:00 Venus 0.1439 AU 56.0 LD 15.8 km/s
2028-04-27 22:16:00 Earth 0.3569 AU 138.9 LD 12.7 km/s
2028-12-21 12:20:00 Earth 0.1548 AU 60.3 LD 6.3 km/s
2029-12-21 04:06:00 Earth 0.3887 AU 151.3 LD 21.3 km/s
2037-09-02 14:06:00 Earth 0.0433 AU 16.8 LD 10.5 km/s
2038-06-03 16:36:00 Earth 0.3382 AU 131.6 LD 11.2 km/s
2038-11-06 01:38:00 Earth 0.2432 AU 94.7 LD 7.8 km/s
2039-03-25 12:12:00 Earth 0.3192 AU 124.2 LD 10.9 km/s

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

Sources