Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2021 CP2

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2021 CP2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.242 AU
True anomaly
181.61°
Distance from Earth
1.795 AU
As of
24 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 — 0.994 AU from the Sun Earth 2021 CP2 — 1.242 AU from the Sun 2021 CP2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 CP2 is 1.795 AU from Earth today (14.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 25m 39s
Declination
+05° 43′ 00″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
1.79 AU
Elongation from the Sun
41.67° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
0.971 AU
Eccentricity
0.2797
Inclination
8.4°
Orbital period
349.4 days
Perihelion
0.699 AU
Aphelion
1.242 AU
Longitude of ascending node
336.12°
Argument of periapsis
339.67°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 40.1 LD
0.103 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.181

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 2).

Observations used
78
Data arc
417 days
First observed
6 February 2021
Last observed
30 March 2022
Residual RMS
0.48 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
30 March 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
23

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 180 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2021 CP2 at 2038-12-09 09:22 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2038-12-09 09:22 UTC close approach of 2021 CP2. Catalogue miss distance 139.2 LD · 5.35 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2038-12-06 to 2038-12-12, 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 139.2 LD · 5.35 × 10⁷ km 2038-12-09 09:22 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2038-12-09 09:22 UTC close approach of 2021 CP2. Catalogue miss distance 139.2 LD · 5.35 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2038-12-06 to 2038-12-12, 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
2027-03-29 21:53:00 Venus 0.0896 AU 34.9 LD 10.3 km/s
2035-11-02 10:26:00 Venus 0.1351 AU 52.6 LD 12.4 km/s
2038-12-09 09:22:00 Earth 0.3576 AU 139.2 LD 18.9 km/s
2039-11-27 21:04:00 Earth 0.1539 AU 59.9 LD 10.5 km/s
2040-10-09 14:06:00 Earth 0.2362 AU 91.9 LD 8.3 km/s
2040-12-30 01:22:00 Earth 0.2302 AU 89.6 LD 7.1 km/s
2041-08-26 15:50:00 Earth 0.3049 AU 118.7 LD 11.6 km/s
2042-02-05 16:01:00 Earth 0.2622 AU 102.0 LD 8.3 km/s
2042-07-19 23:38:00 Earth 0.3181 AU 123.8 LD 11.3 km/s
2043-03-12 06:26:00 Earth 0.1998 AU 77.8 LD 7.7 km/s

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

Sources