2021 UQ4 is an asteroid in the Aten orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.67 AU to 1.29 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 354.1 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 30 October 2021.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 1.294 AU
- True anomaly
- 178.71°
- Distance from Earth
- 0.692 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.
In the sky
- Right ascension
- 07h 28m 55s
- Declination
- +08° 00′ 59″
- Constellation
- Canis Minor
- Distance from Earth
- 0.69 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 98.81° — 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.
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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
- 0.98 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.3209
- Inclination
- 14.22°
- Orbital period
- 354.1 days
- Perihelion
- 0.665 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.294 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 212.66°
- Argument of periapsis
- 31.95°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2459516.5
- Orbit class · ATE
- Aten
- Earth MOID · 48.7 LD
- 0.1251 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 6.108
Orbit quality
Orbit very uncertain — the object may be effectively lost (uncertainty code 8).
- Observations used
- 13
- Data arc
- 2 days
- First observed
- 28 October 2021
- Last observed
- 30 October 2021
- Residual RMS
- 0.59 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 30 October 2021
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 24.3
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 28 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2082-10-05 07:53 UTC close approach of 2021 UQ4. Catalogue miss distance 113.8 LD · 4.38 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2082-10-02 to 2082-10-08, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2082-10-05 07:53:00 | Earth | 0.2925 AU | 113.8 LD | 18.7 km/s |
| 2083-10-01 15:54:00 | Earth | 0.151 AU | 58.8 LD | 13.7 km/s |
| 2092-02-02 13:04:00 | Earth | 0.3173 AU | 123.5 LD | 17.3 km/s |
| 2093-01-22 18:03:00 | Earth | 0.4645 AU | 180.8 LD | 22.9 km/s |
| 2100-12-09 06:58:00 | Venus | 0.0601 AU | 23.4 LD | 14.3 km/s |
| 2113-10-10 10:09:00 | Earth | 0.4073 AU | 158.5 LD | 22.5 km/s |
| 2176-10-11 22:37:00 | Earth | 0.4451 AU | 173.2 LD | 23.7 km/s |
| 2177-10-05 23:38:00 | Earth | 0.2759 AU | 107.4 LD | 18.2 km/s |
| 2178-10-02 17:01:00 | Earth | 0.14 AU | 54.5 LD | 13.2 km/s |
| 2179-10-08 22:37:00 | Earth | 0.1562 AU | 60.8 LD | 10 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