2021 RU7 is an asteroid in the Aten orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.88 AU to 1.1 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 360.8 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 12 November 2023.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 1.103 AU
- True anomaly
- 184.04°
- Distance from Earth
- 0.412 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
- 12h 26m 09s
- Declination
- +77° 16′ 06″
- Constellation
- Camelopardalis
- Distance from Earth
- 0.41 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 94.3° — 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.
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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
- 0.992 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.112
- Inclination
- 21.93°
- Orbital period
- 360.8 days
- Perihelion
- 0.881 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.103 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 347.34°
- Argument of periapsis
- 240.37°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · ATE
- Aten
- Earth MOID · 10.9 LD
- 0.0279 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 6.051
Orbit quality
Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 2).
- Observations used
- 107
- Data arc
- 360 days
- First observed
- 10 September 2021
- Last observed
- 5 September 2022
- Residual RMS
- 0.41 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 12 November 2023
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 23.47
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 100 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-03-04 23:26 UTC close approach of 2021 RU7. Catalogue miss distance 24.8 LD · 9.53 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-03-01 to 2027-03-07, 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.
| When (UTC) | Body | Distance | Lunar distances | Relative speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2027-03-04 23:26:00 | Earth | 0.0637 AU | 24.8 LD | 12.4 km/s |
| 2027-09-29 08:23:00 | Earth | 0.4555 AU | 177.3 LD | 13.5 km/s |
| 2028-02-28 00:15:00 | Earth | 0.1099 AU | 42.8 LD | 13.3 km/s |
| 2029-02-22 04:21:00 | Earth | 0.1809 AU | 70.4 LD | 14.5 km/s |
| 2030-02-17 12:22:00 | Earth | 0.2584 AU | 100.6 LD | 16.1 km/s |
| 2031-02-13 01:24:00 | Earth | 0.3381 AU | 131.6 LD | 17.9 km/s |
| 2032-02-08 19:01:00 | Earth | 0.4186 AU | 162.9 LD | 19.8 km/s |
| 2033-02-03 14:56:00 | Earth | 0.4995 AU | 194.4 LD | 21.9 km/s |
| 2089-09-19 14:31:00 | Earth | 0.4555 AU | 177.3 LD | 20.4 km/s |
| 2090-09-17 09:20:00 | Earth | 0.376 AU | 146.3 LD | 18.4 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