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Asteroid Near-Earth

2019 WJ

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(2019 WJ)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.688 AU
True anomaly
117.31°
Distance from Earth
0.742 AU
As of
15 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 2019 WJ — 0.688 AU from the Sun 2019 WJ
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2019 WJ is 0.742 AU from Earth today (6.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
16h 20m 34s
Declination
-24° 12′ 11″
Constellation
Scorpius
Distance from Earth
0.74 AU
Elongation from the Sun
44.32° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
0.711 AU
Eccentricity
0.5075
Inclination
4.71°
Orbital period
219.2 days
Perihelion
0.35 AU
Aphelion
1.072 AU
Longitude of ascending node
12.67°
Argument of periapsis
204.32°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 1.5 LD
0.0038 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.95

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
60
Data arc
6.03 years
First observed
3 November 2019
Last observed
14 November 2025
Residual RMS
0.55 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
4 December 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
22.49

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 326 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2019 WJ at 2028-11-23 04:12 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-11-23 04:12 UTC close approach of 2019 WJ. Catalogue miss distance 25.4 LD · 9.77 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-11-20 to 2028-11-26, 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 21 Nov 25 Nov 25.4 LD · 9.77 × 10⁶ km 2028-11-23 04:12 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-11-23 04:12 UTC close approach of 2019 WJ. Catalogue miss distance 25.4 LD · 9.77 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-11-20 to 2028-11-26, 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
2027-11-14 18:17:00 Mercury 0.0323 AU 12.6 LD 27.4 km/s
2027-11-14 18:17:00 Merc 0.0323 AU 12.6 LD 27.4 km/s
2028-11-23 04:12:00 Earth 0.0653 AU 25.4 LD 12.2 km/s
2029-01-26 02:28:00 Mercury 0.0668 AU 26.0 LD 32.9 km/s
2029-01-26 02:28:00 Merc 0.0668 AU 26.0 LD 32.9 km/s
2029-03-11 09:43:00 Venus 0.0808 AU 31.4 LD 22.4 km/s
2029-10-19 03:37:00 Venus 0.029 AU 11.3 LD 17.2 km/s
2030-06-01 05:48:00 Venus 0.1352 AU 52.6 LD 12.8 km/s
2031-11-24 04:35:00 Earth 0.0687 AU 26.7 LD 12.4 km/s
2034-11-24 10:12:00 Earth 0.0784 AU 30.5 LD 13 km/s

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

Sources