2021 OT is an asteroid in the Aten orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.7 AU to 1.29 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 362.3 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 20 July 2021.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 1.285 AU
- True anomaly
- 189.75°
- Distance from Earth
- 0.683 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
- 22h 24m 46s
- Declination
- -43° 32′ 10″
- Constellation
- Grus
- Distance from Earth
- 0.69 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 98.15° — well clear of the Sun
Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.
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.
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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
- 0.995 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.3003
- Inclination
- 16.49°
- Orbital period
- 362.3 days
- Perihelion
- 0.696 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.293 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 117.14°
- Argument of periapsis
- 66.29°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · ATE
- Aten
- Earth MOID · 3.3 LD
- 0.0085 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 6.031
Orbit quality
Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).
- Observations used
- 53
- Data arc
- 24 hours
- First observed
- 19 July 2021
- Last observed
- 20 July 2021
- Residual RMS
- 0.62 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 20 July 2021
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 26.24
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 121 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-07-30 13:30 UTC close approach of 2021 OT. Catalogue miss distance 102.7 LD · 3.95 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-07-27 to 2027-08-02, 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. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2027-07-30 13:30:00 | Earth | 0.2639 AU | 102.7 LD | 8.9 km/s |
| 2028-03-16 16:13:00 | Venus | 0.1215 AU | 47.3 LD | 15.4 km/s |
| 2028-08-06 23:36:00 | Earth | 0.3025 AU | 117.7 LD | 8.9 km/s |
| 2029-05-05 03:19:00 | Earth | 0.3653 AU | 142.2 LD | 9 km/s |
| 2029-08-16 03:02:00 | Earth | 0.3368 AU | 131.1 LD | 9 km/s |
| 2030-04-23 01:53:00 | Earth | 0.3776 AU | 147.0 LD | 9.9 km/s |
| 2030-08-25 06:07:00 | Earth | 0.3653 AU | 142.2 LD | 9 km/s |
| 2031-04-12 17:39:00 | Earth | 0.3824 AU | 148.8 LD | 10.7 km/s |
| 2031-09-03 04:58:00 | Earth | 0.3883 AU | 151.1 LD | 8.9 km/s |
| 2032-04-02 05:56:00 | Earth | 0.3811 AU | 148.3 LD | 11.3 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