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Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2016 UA

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(2016 UA)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.939 AU
True anomaly
217.21°
Distance from Earth
0.808 AU
As of
16 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 — 0.997 AU from the Sun Earth 2016 UA — 0.939 AU from the Sun 2016 UA
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2016 UA is 0.808 AU from Earth today (6.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 48m 18s
Declination
+21° 01′ 18″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
0.81 AU
Elongation from the Sun
61.62° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
0.754 AU
Eccentricity
0.5172
Inclination
9.87°
Orbital period
239.1 days
Perihelion
0.364 AU
Aphelion
1.144 AU
Longitude of ascending node
291.72°
Argument of periapsis
282.94°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 44.8 LD
0.1151 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.543

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
146
Data arc
6.01 years
First observed
16 October 2016
Last observed
20 October 2022
Residual RMS
0.38 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
30 September 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
20.83

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 336 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2016 UA at 2027-10-05 11:36 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-10-05 11:36 UTC close approach of 2016 UA. Catalogue miss distance 150.0 LD · 5.76 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-10-02 to 2027-10-08, 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 150.0 LD · 5.76 × 10⁷ km 2027-10-05 11:36 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-10-05 11:36 UTC close approach of 2016 UA. Catalogue miss distance 150.0 LD · 5.76 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-10-02 to 2027-10-08, 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
2026-12-27 17:46:00 Merc 0.0513 AU 20.0 LD 23.1 km/s
2026-12-27 17:46:00 Mercury 0.0513 AU 20.0 LD 23.1 km/s
2027-10-05 11:36:00 Earth 0.3853 AU 150.0 LD 25.4 km/s
2028-02-29 19:02:00 Venus 0.0626 AU 24.3 LD 17.6 km/s
2029-09-27 06:58:00 Earth 0.2217 AU 86.3 LD 18.8 km/s
2031-07-31 03:46:00 Mercury 0.0318 AU 12.4 LD 28.1 km/s
2031-07-31 03:46:00 Merc 0.0318 AU 12.4 LD 28.1 km/s
2031-08-20 05:38:00 Venus 0.1409 AU 54.8 LD 23.8 km/s
2031-09-25 08:03:00 Earth 0.1675 AU 65.2 LD 12.6 km/s
2033-10-19 18:58:00 Earth 0.231 AU 89.9 LD 10.6 km/s

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

Sources