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Asteroid Near-Earth

2021 AX6

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(2021 AX6)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.85 AU
True anomaly
237.33°
Distance from Earth
1.812 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 2021 AX6 — 0.85 AU from the Sun 2021 AX6
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 AX6 is 1.812 AU from Earth today (15.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 52m 50s
Declination
-04° 00′ 59″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.81 AU
Elongation from the Sun
10.19° — 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
0.783 AU
Eccentricity
0.3171
Inclination
3.26°
Orbital period
253 days
Perihelion
0.535 AU
Aphelion
1.031 AU
Longitude of ascending node
99.41°
Argument of periapsis
204.61°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 0.6 LD
0.0016 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.38

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
25
Data arc
34 days
First observed
14 January 2021
Last observed
17 February 2021
Residual RMS
0.58 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
10 May 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
26.89

Discovery & classification

Listed by JPL impact monitoring; see the Sentry table for current probabilities.

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 123 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2021 AX6 at 2027-09-19 09:16 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-09-19 09:16 UTC close approach of 2021 AX6. Catalogue miss distance 162.4 LD · 6.24 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-09-16 to 2027-09-22, 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 162.4 LD · 6.24 × 10⁷ km 2027-09-19 09:16 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-09-19 09:16 UTC close approach of 2021 AX6. Catalogue miss distance 162.4 LD · 6.24 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-09-16 to 2027-09-22, 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
2027-09-19 09:16:00 Earth 0.4172 AU 162.4 LD 12.7 km/s
2028-02-19 07:32:00 Earth 0.2781 AU 108.2 LD 16.3 km/s
2030-07-13 12:58:00 Venus 0.1262 AU 49.1 LD 17.6 km/s
2032-01-02 11:27:00 Earth 0.3948 AU 153.6 LD 20.4 km/s
2032-06-13 03:14:00 Earth 0.4454 AU 173.3 LD 14.6 km/s
2034-07-31 19:44:00 Earth 0.4809 AU 187.2 LD 17.5 km/s
2036-01-26 08:28:00 Venus 0.1395 AU 54.3 LD 18.3 km/s
2036-09-19 12:36:00 Earth 0.4155 AU 161.7 LD 12.6 km/s
2037-02-18 15:59:00 Earth 0.2708 AU 105.4 LD 16 km/s
2039-01-06 07:44:00 Earth 0.0308 AU 12.0 LD 6.4 km/s

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

Sources