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Asteroid Near-Earth

2021 KA1

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(2021 KA1)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.269 AU
True anomaly
173.41°
Distance from Earth
2.17 AU
As of
23 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 KA1 — 1.269 AU from the Sun 2021 KA1
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 KA1 is 2.17 AU from Earth today (18.0 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 44m 10s
Declination
-05° 38′ 47″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
2.17 AU
Elongation from the Sun
18.95° — 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
0.966 AU
Eccentricity
0.3181
Inclination
2.55°
Orbital period
346.6 days
Perihelion
0.658 AU
Aphelion
1.273 AU
Longitude of ascending node
211.32°
Argument of periapsis
152.33°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 10.1 LD
0.026 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.205

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
23
Data arc
13 days
First observed
12 May 2021
Last observed
25 May 2021
Residual RMS
0.66 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
25 May 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
26.08

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 91 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2021 KA1 at 2035-01-30 11:16 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2035-01-30 11:16 UTC close approach of 2021 KA1. Catalogue miss distance 150.2 LD · 5.77 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2035-01-27 to 2035-02-02, 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 150.2 LD · 5.77 × 10⁷ km 2035-01-30 11:16 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2035-01-30 11:16 UTC close approach of 2021 KA1. Catalogue miss distance 150.2 LD · 5.77 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2035-01-27 to 2035-02-02, 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
2029-02-22 18:51:00 Venus 0.0729 AU 28.4 LD 7.6 km/s
2035-01-30 11:16:00 Earth 0.386 AU 150.2 LD 21.5 km/s
2036-01-18 01:52:00 Earth 0.081 AU 31.5 LD 11.7 km/s
2037-02-12 11:07:00 Earth 0.2121 AU 82.5 LD 7 km/s
2037-10-10 05:51:00 Earth 0.3364 AU 130.9 LD 12.1 km/s
2038-03-25 23:15:00 Earth 0.277 AU 107.8 LD 8.1 km/s
2038-08-29 22:54:00 Earth 0.3338 AU 129.9 LD 11.6 km/s
2039-07-27 13:18:00 Venus 0.1229 AU 47.8 LD 14 km/s
2040-05-24 18:36:00 Earth 0.1068 AU 41.5 LD 12.7 km/s
2041-05-12 17:43:00 Earth 0.4106 AU 159.8 LD 22 km/s

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

Sources