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Asteroid Near-Earth

2021 VA2

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(2021 VA2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.995 AU
True anomaly
235.23°
Distance from Earth
1.21 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 VA2 — 0.995 AU from the Sun 2021 VA2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 VA2 is 1.21 AU from Earth today (10.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
10h 22m 56s
Declination
-10° 00′ 10″
Constellation
Sextans
Distance from Earth
1.21 AU
Elongation from the Sun
52.54° — 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
0.97 AU
Eccentricity
0.0479
Inclination
25.76°
Orbital period
348.9 days
Perihelion
0.923 AU
Aphelion
1.016 AU
Longitude of ascending node
223.79°
Argument of periapsis
8.37°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 9.3 LD
0.024 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.142

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
49
Data arc
10 days
First observed
4 November 2021
Last observed
14 November 2021
Residual RMS
0.42 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 November 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.08

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 44 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2021 VA2 at 2041-11-10 23:08 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2041-11-10 23:08 UTC close approach of 2021 VA2. Catalogue miss distance 146.3 LD · 5.62 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2041-11-07 to 2041-11-13, 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. 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 146.3 LD · 5.62 × 10⁷ km 2041-11-10 23:08 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2041-11-10 23:08 UTC close approach of 2021 VA2. Catalogue miss distance 146.3 LD · 5.62 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2041-11-07 to 2041-11-13, 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. 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
2041-11-10 23:08:00 Earth 0.3758 AU 146.3 LD 17.7 km/s
2042-11-07 16:28:00 Earth 0.1123 AU 43.7 LD 13.7 km/s
2044-11-01 15:14:00 Earth 0.4179 AU 162.6 LD 17.7 km/s
2062-11-13 03:26:00 Earth 0.4915 AU 191.3 LD 20.3 km/s
2063-11-09 11:09:00 Earth 0.2297 AU 89.4 LD 15.1 km/s
2064-11-05 15:55:00 Earth 0.044 AU 17.1 LD 13.2 km/s
2065-11-03 04:58:00 Earth 0.3049 AU 118.7 LD 15.6 km/s
2084-06-11 03:57:00 Earth 0.4715 AU 183.5 LD 18.5 km/s
2084-11-09 04:04:00 Earth 0.2605 AU 101.4 LD 15.6 km/s
2085-05-19 17:06:00 Earth 0.2205 AU 85.8 LD 14.7 km/s

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

Sources