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Asteroid Near-Earth

2016 VU2

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(2016 VU2)

2016 VU2 is an asteroid in the Aten orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.45 AU to 1.53 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 358 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 18 December 2025.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.517 AU
True anomaly
173.86°
Distance from Earth
0.772 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 VU2 — 1.517 AU from the Sun 2016 VU2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2016 VU2 is 0.772 AU from Earth today (6.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
06h 46m 35s
Declination
+11° 44′ 29″
Constellation
Monoceros
Distance from Earth
0.77 AU
Elongation from the Sun
118.67° — well clear of the Sun

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
0.987 AU
Eccentricity
0.5478
Inclination
26.78°
Orbital period
358 days
Perihelion
0.446 AU
Aphelion
1.527 AU
Longitude of ascending node
235.36°
Argument of periapsis
18.55°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 97.4 LD
0.2503 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
5.924

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
64
Data arc
9.11 years
First observed
6 November 2016
Last observed
18 December 2025
Residual RMS
0.74 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
18 December 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
22.01

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 70 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2031-04-13 02:47:00 Merc 0.0936 AU 36.4 LD 37.2 km/s
2031-04-13 02:47:00 Mercury 0.0936 AU 36.4 LD 37.2 km/s
2032-04-05 20:16:00 Mercury 0.0477 AU 18.6 LD 31.2 km/s
2032-04-05 20:16:00 Merc 0.0477 AU 18.6 LD 31.2 km/s
2045-12-26 06:16:00 Merc 0.0152 AU 5.9 LD 32 km/s
2045-12-26 06:16:00 Mercury 0.0152 AU 5.9 LD 32 km/s
2059-09-18 01:03:00 Mercury 0.0067 AU 2.6 LD 32.3 km/s
2059-09-18 01:03:00 Merc 0.0067 AU 2.6 LD 32.3 km/s
2073-06-09 11:38:00 Merc 0.0089 AU 3.5 LD 32.8 km/s
2073-06-09 11:38:00 Mercury 0.0089 AU 3.5 LD 32.8 km/s

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

Sources