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Asteroid Near-Earth

2021 PB2

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(2021 PB2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.643 AU
True anomaly
52.52°
Distance from Earth
1.629 AU
As of
15 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 — 0.997 AU from the Sun Earth 2021 PB2 — 0.643 AU from the Sun 2021 PB2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 PB2 is 1.629 AU from Earth today (13.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 29m 01s
Declination
-14° 02′ 21″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.63 AU
Elongation from the Sun
5.06° — 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
0.717 AU
Eccentricity
0.15
Inclination
24.83°
Orbital period
222 days
Perihelion
0.61 AU
Aphelion
0.825 AU
Longitude of ascending node
234.97°
Argument of periapsis
278.31°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · IEO
Atira (interior-Earth object)
Earth MOID · 102.2 LD
0.2627 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.919

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
52
Data arc
12.18 years
First observed
6 June 2012
Last observed
10 August 2024
Residual RMS
0.42 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
9 December 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
18.8

Discovery & classification

Atira Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 74 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2048-02-05 12:24:00 Venus 0.1347 AU 52.4 LD 20.7 km/s
2048-09-14 23:56:00 Venus 0.0837 AU 32.6 LD 19.3 km/s
2049-04-25 12:10:00 Venus 0.0406 AU 15.8 LD 18.3 km/s
2049-12-04 01:28:00 Venus 0.0419 AU 16.3 LD 17.6 km/s
2050-07-14 13:26:00 Venus 0.0853 AU 33.2 LD 17.2 km/s
2051-02-22 00:30:00 Venus 0.1356 AU 52.8 LD 17.2 km/s
2052-09-14 15:59:00 Venus 0.1305 AU 50.8 LD 17 km/s
2053-04-26 00:24:00 Venus 0.0781 AU 30.4 LD 17 km/s
2053-12-05 06:09:00 Venus 0.0274 AU 10.6 LD 17.4 km/s
2054-07-16 11:33:00 Venus 0.0257 AU 10.0 LD 18.1 km/s

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

Sources