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Asteroid Near-Earth

2021 GL7

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(2021 GL7)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.367 AU
True anomaly
202.23°
Distance from Earth
2.25 AU
As of
22 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 — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth 2021 GL7 — 1.367 AU from the Sun 2021 GL7
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 GL7 is 2.25 AU from Earth today (18.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 32m 03s
Declination
-04° 06′ 22″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
2.24 AU
Elongation from the Sun
21.12° — 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
0.961 AU
Eccentricity
0.5538
Inclination
4.43°
Orbital period
344.2 days
Perihelion
0.429 AU
Aphelion
1.493 AU
Longitude of ascending node
341°
Argument of periapsis
350.23°
Epoch · J2000
2459315.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 20.5 LD
0.0527 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.127

Orbit quality

Orbit very uncertain — the object may be effectively lost (uncertainty code 8).

Observations used
39
Data arc
4 days
First observed
10 April 2021
Last observed
14 April 2021
Residual RMS
0.41 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
14 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 32 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2021 GL7 at 2031-01-10 16:25 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2031-01-10 16:25 UTC close approach of 2021 GL7. Catalogue miss distance 133.9 LD · 5.15 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2031-01-07 to 2031-01-13, 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. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 133.9 LD · 5.15 × 10⁷ km 2031-01-10 16:25 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2031-01-10 16:25 UTC close approach of 2021 GL7. Catalogue miss distance 133.9 LD · 5.15 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2031-01-07 to 2031-01-13, 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. 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
2031-01-10 16:25:00 Earth 0.3442 AU 133.9 LD 28.1 km/s
2031-12-29 04:51:00 Earth 0.0686 AU 26.7 LD 17.2 km/s
2165-07-27 15:26:00 Venus 0.1046 AU 40.7 LD 24.1 km/s
2167-03-21 08:22:00 Earth 0.419 AU 163.1 LD 12.9 km/s
2167-06-26 14:02:00 Earth 0.4915 AU 191.3 LD 17.3 km/s
2168-04-15 09:04:00 Earth 0.1962 AU 76.4 LD 12.6 km/s
2169-04-10 17:23:00 Earth 0.1567 AU 61.0 LD 22 km/s
2170-03-27 23:59:00 Earth 0.482 AU 187.6 LD 32.7 km/s

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

Sources