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Asteroid Near-Earth

2021 QF1

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(2021 QF1)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.118 AU
True anomaly
201.46°
Distance from Earth
0.56 AU
As of
20 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 — 0.996 AU from the Sun Earth 2021 QF1 — 1.118 AU from the Sun 2021 QF1
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 QF1 is 0.56 AU from Earth today (4.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
16h 22m 12s
Declination
+72° 35′ 46″
Constellation
Ursa Minor
Distance from Earth
0.56 AU
Elongation from the Sun
87.13° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
0.874 AU
Eccentricity
0.3207
Inclination
30.47°
Orbital period
298.5 days
Perihelion
0.594 AU
Aphelion
1.154 AU
Longitude of ascending node
287.45°
Argument of periapsis
262.07°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 65.4 LD
0.1682 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.622

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 2).

Observations used
47
Data arc
4.97 years
First observed
27 August 2021
Last observed
15 August 2026
Residual RMS
0.51 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
16 August 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
20.85

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 64 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2021 QF1 at 2030-07-21 11:45 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-07-21 11:45 UTC close approach of 2021 QF1. Catalogue miss distance 66.2 LD · 2.54 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-07-18 to 2030-07-24, 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 north of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 66.2 LD · 2.54 × 10⁷ km 2030-07-21 11:45 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-07-21 11:45 UTC close approach of 2021 QF1. Catalogue miss distance 66.2 LD · 2.54 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-07-18 to 2030-07-24, 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 north of the ecliptic. 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
2027-03-29 13:46:00 Venus 0.0773 AU 30.1 LD 23.3 km/s
2029-09-12 03:25:00 Venus 0.0704 AU 27.4 LD 21.9 km/s
2030-07-21 11:45:00 Earth 0.17 AU 66.2 LD 19 km/s
2032-02-27 00:59:00 Venus 0.1091 AU 42.5 LD 20.7 km/s
2039-07-17 07:55:00 Earth 0.1719 AU 66.9 LD 18.1 km/s
2041-09-17 21:36:00 Venus 0.1165 AU 45.3 LD 20.8 km/s
2044-03-03 09:22:00 Venus 0.0593 AU 23.1 LD 21.9 km/s
2046-08-17 16:18:00 Venus 0.0425 AU 16.6 LD 23.2 km/s
2048-07-12 03:22:00 Earth 0.1939 AU 75.5 LD 17.4 km/s
2049-01-30 15:24:00 Venus 0.0932 AU 36.3 LD 25 km/s

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

Sources