Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2021 QK2

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2021 QK2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.712 AU
True anomaly
286.22°
Distance from Earth
0.609 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 QK2 — 0.712 AU from the Sun 2021 QK2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 QK2 is 0.609 AU from Earth today (5.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
10h 57m 35s
Declination
+08° 27′ 24″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
0.61 AU
Elongation from the Sun
45.08° — 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
0.874 AU
Eccentricity
0.3318
Inclination
3.3°
Orbital period
298.3 days
Perihelion
0.584 AU
Aphelion
1.163 AU
Longitude of ascending node
270.5°
Argument of periapsis
227.94°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 1.2 LD
0.003 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.728

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
26
Data arc
16 days
First observed
30 August 2021
Last observed
15 September 2021
Residual RMS
0.4 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 September 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.39

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 121 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2021 QK2 at 2030-03-18 03:48 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-03-18 03:48 UTC close approach of 2021 QK2. Catalogue miss distance 147.5 LD · 5.67 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-03-15 to 2030-03-21, 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 147.5 LD · 5.67 × 10⁷ km 2030-03-18 03:48 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-03-18 03:48 UTC close approach of 2021 QK2. Catalogue miss distance 147.5 LD · 5.67 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-03-15 to 2030-03-21, 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
2030-03-18 03:48:00 Earth 0.3789 AU 147.5 LD 12.6 km/s
2030-09-28 20:36:00 Earth 0.0648 AU 25.2 LD 7.7 km/s
2034-06-26 22:23:00 Earth 0.0368 AU 14.3 LD 7.7 km/s
2035-01-04 22:10:00 Earth 0.3734 AU 145.3 LD 12.9 km/s
2037-08-09 08:17:00 Venus 0.1409 AU 54.8 LD 17.3 km/s
2038-07-08 03:09:00 Earth 0.4266 AU 166.0 LD 21.9 km/s
2039-03-02 23:42:00 Earth 0.3971 AU 154.5 LD 14.1 km/s
2039-09-29 13:24:00 Earth 0.1074 AU 41.8 LD 11.4 km/s
2040-01-21 08:28:00 Venus 0.0699 AU 27.2 LD 12.9 km/s
2042-07-03 01:17:00 Venus 0.0826 AU 32.1 LD 8.6 km/s

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

Sources