2021 DU1 is an asteroid in the Aten orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.72 AU to 1.27 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 362 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 1.272 AU
- True anomaly
- 178.08°
- Distance from Earth
- 1.086 AU
- As of
- 2 November 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.
In the sky
- Right ascension
- 10h 39m 18s
- Declination
- +36° 06′ 49″
- Constellation
- Leo Minor
- Distance from Earth
- 1.08 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 75.65° — well clear of the Sun
Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.
From your location
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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
- 0.994 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.2803
- Inclination
- 25.48°
- Orbital period
- 362 days
- Perihelion
- 0.715 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.273 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 328.84°
- Argument of periapsis
- 303.39°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2459266.5
- Orbit class · ATE
- Aten
- Earth MOID · 30.1 LD
- 0.0772 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 5.992
Orbit quality
Orbit very uncertain — the object may be effectively lost (uncertainty code 8).
- Observations used
- 72
- Data arc
- 14 days
- First observed
- 19 February 2021
- Last observed
- 5 March 2021
- Residual RMS
- 0.52 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 15 April 2021
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 23.89
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 19 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-02-18 17:10 UTC close approach of 2021 DU1. Catalogue miss distance 107.8 LD · 4.14 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-02-15 to 2027-02-21, 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.
| When (UTC) | Body | Distance | Lunar distances | Relative speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2027-02-18 17:10:00 | Earth | 0.2769 AU | 107.8 LD | 20.9 km/s |
| 2028-02-17 06:26:00 | Earth | 0.3329 AU | 129.5 LD | 22.4 km/s |
| 2029-02-14 16:24:00 | Earth | 0.3893 AU | 151.5 LD | 23.9 km/s |
| 2030-02-12 22:53:00 | Earth | 0.446 AU | 173.6 LD | 25.5 km/s |
| 2030-05-20 01:23:00 | Venus | 0.0421 AU | 16.4 LD | 17.9 km/s |
| 2147-04-10 12:31:00 | Venus | 0.0459 AU | 17.8 LD | 18.3 km/s |
Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.
Sources
- visual properties: JPL SBDB (lookup)
- orbital elements: JPL SBDB