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Asteroid Near-Earth

2016 VA

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(2016 VA)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.48 AU
True anomaly
46.49°
Distance from Earth
1.473 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 VA — 0.48 AU from the Sun 2016 VA
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2016 VA is 1.473 AU from Earth today (12.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 57m 26s
Declination
-12° 26′ 34″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.48 AU
Elongation from the Sun
2.85° — 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
0.921 AU
Eccentricity
0.535
Inclination
29.69°
Orbital period
322.8 days
Perihelion
0.428 AU
Aphelion
1.414 AU
Longitude of ascending node
219.69°
Argument of periapsis
309.24°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 0.2 LD
0.0004 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.268

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
45
Data arc
24 hours
First observed
1 November 2016
Last observed
2 November 2016
Residual RMS
0.27 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Physical properties

Rotation period
6 hours

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
27.6

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Sources