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Asteroid Near-Earth

2021 RL7

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(2021 RL7)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.047 AU
True anomaly
232.49°
Distance from Earth
1.023 AU
As of
24 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 — 0.994 AU from the Sun Earth 2021 RL7 — 1.047 AU from the Sun 2021 RL7
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 RL7 is 1.023 AU from Earth today (8.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
10h 04m 02s
Declination
+11° 53′ 31″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
1.02 AU
Elongation from the Sun
62.47° — well clear of the Sun

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
0.967 AU
Eccentricity
0.1675
Inclination
0.52°
Orbital period
347.3 days
Perihelion
0.805 AU
Aphelion
1.129 AU
Longitude of ascending node
273.91°
Argument of periapsis
305.04°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 1.1 LD
0.003 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.231

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
15
Data arc
24 hours
First observed
9 September 2021
Last observed
10 September 2021
Residual RMS
0.58 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
11 September 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
28.27

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 34 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2021 RL7 at 2039-09-10 17:53 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2039-09-10 17:53 UTC close approach of 2021 RL7. Catalogue miss distance 160.0 LD · 6.15 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2039-09-07 to 2039-09-13, 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 160.0 LD · 6.15 × 10⁷ km 2039-09-10 17:53 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2039-09-10 17:53 UTC close approach of 2021 RL7. Catalogue miss distance 160.0 LD · 6.15 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2039-09-07 to 2039-09-13, 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
2039-09-10 17:53:00 Earth 0.4111 AU 160.0 LD 17.5 km/s
2040-08-29 06:52:00 Earth 0.1126 AU 43.8 LD 8.5 km/s
2041-10-15 16:01:00 Earth 0.1284 AU 50.0 LD 4.2 km/s
2042-04-20 18:52:00 Earth 0.1988 AU 77.4 LD 6.2 km/s
2043-01-12 14:32:00 Earth 0.0394 AU 15.3 LD 4 km/s
2044-01-06 12:35:00 Earth 0.2546 AU 99.1 LD 12.9 km/s
2048-02-03 23:35:00 Venus 0.1098 AU 42.7 LD 2.3 km/s
2059-09-11 04:06:00 Earth 0.4405 AU 171.4 LD 18.4 km/s
2060-08-29 23:16:00 Earth 0.156 AU 60.7 LD 9.8 km/s
2064-01-09 06:47:00 Earth 0.1802 AU 70.1 LD 10.7 km/s

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

Sources