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Asteroid Near-Earth

2021 DK1

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(2021 DK1)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.585 AU
True anomaly
311.21°
Distance from Earth
1.472 AU
As of
19 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 — 0.996 AU from the Sun Earth 2021 DK1 — 0.585 AU from the Sun 2021 DK1
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 DK1 is 1.472 AU from Earth today (12.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 41m 49s
Declination
-04° 56′ 22″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.47 AU
Elongation from the Sun
16.32° — 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
0.85 AU
Eccentricity
0.3751
Inclination
26.73°
Orbital period
286 days
Perihelion
0.531 AU
Aphelion
1.168 AU
Longitude of ascending node
149.72°
Argument of periapsis
141.89°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 14.5 LD
0.0372 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.794

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
66
Data arc
6 days
First observed
18 February 2021
Last observed
24 February 2021
Residual RMS
0.36 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
23.63

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 54 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2021 DK1 at 2027-09-10 12:06 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-09-10 12:06 UTC close approach of 2021 DK1. Catalogue miss distance 161.9 LD · 6.22 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-09-07 to 2027-09-13, 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 inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 161.9 LD · 6.22 × 10⁷ km 2027-09-10 12:06 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-09-10 12:06 UTC close approach of 2021 DK1. Catalogue miss distance 161.9 LD · 6.22 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-09-07 to 2027-09-13, 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 inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2027-09-10 12:06:00 Earth 0.416 AU 161.9 LD 21.6 km/s
2028-02-14 16:22:00 Earth 0.2277 AU 88.6 LD 14.1 km/s
2032-02-18 01:10:00 Earth 0.2281 AU 88.8 LD 21.5 km/s
2034-09-25 22:58:00 Venus 0.1341 AU 52.2 LD 21.2 km/s
2034-10-09 22:14:00 Earth 0.4062 AU 158.1 LD 18.9 km/s
2035-01-22 02:07:00 Earth 0.3986 AU 155.1 LD 14.1 km/s
2038-08-19 23:47:00 Earth 0.4516 AU 175.7 LD 23.2 km/s
2039-02-21 13:16:00 Earth 0.0541 AU 21.1 LD 15.7 km/s
2041-11-13 18:57:00 Earth 0.4608 AU 179.3 LD 18.1 km/s
2043-02-11 00:29:00 Earth 0.4322 AU 168.2 LD 27.4 km/s

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

Sources