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Asteroid Near-Earth

2021 BJ3

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(2021 BJ3)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.32 AU
True anomaly
5.36°
Distance from Earth
0.945 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 2021 BJ3 — 0.32 AU from the Sun 2021 BJ3
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 BJ3 is 0.945 AU from Earth today (7.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 37m 55s
Declination
-15° 13′ 35″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
0.92 AU
Elongation from the Sun
18.77° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
0.667 AU
Eccentricity
0.5207
Inclination
9.69°
Orbital period
199.1 days
Perihelion
0.32 AU
Aphelion
1.015 AU
Longitude of ascending node
312.64°
Argument of periapsis
352.89°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 5.6 LD
0.0143 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
8.401

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
111
Data arc
23 days
First observed
15 January 2021
Last observed
7 February 2021
Residual RMS
0.37 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.1

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 63 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2021 BJ3 at 2027-02-04 07:04 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-02-04 07:04 UTC close approach of 2021 BJ3. Catalogue miss distance 6.47 LD · 2.49 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-02-01 to 2027-02-07, 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 south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 2 Feb 6 Feb 6.47 LD · 2.49 × 10⁶ km 2027-02-04 07:04 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-02-04 07:04 UTC close approach of 2021 BJ3. Catalogue miss distance 6.47 LD · 2.49 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-02-01 to 2027-02-07, 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 south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2026-11-22 16:45:00 Venus 0.1049 AU 40.8 LD 19.8 km/s
2027-02-04 07:04:00 Earth 0.0166 AU 6.5 LD 11 km/s
2028-01-12 14:42:00 Earth 0.3055 AU 118.9 LD 21.2 km/s
2028-12-25 18:43:00 Merc 0.0754 AU 29.3 LD 28.2 km/s
2028-12-25 18:43:00 Mercury 0.0754 AU 29.3 LD 28.2 km/s
2030-07-24 17:05:00 Merc 0.0799 AU 31.1 LD 30.8 km/s
2030-07-24 17:05:00 Mercury 0.0799 AU 31.1 LD 30.8 km/s
2031-10-25 16:28:00 Venus 0.1297 AU 50.5 LD 15.8 km/s
2032-02-03 13:23:00 Earth 0.4442 AU 172.9 LD 26.9 km/s
2033-02-05 03:49:00 Earth 0.0144 AU 5.6 LD 11.2 km/s

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

Sources