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Asteroid Near-Earth

2021 VQ3

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(2021 VQ3)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.855 AU
True anomaly
132.63°
Distance from Earth
0.609 AU
As of
16 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 — 0.997 AU from the Sun Earth 2021 VQ3 — 0.855 AU from the Sun 2021 VQ3
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 VQ3 is 0.609 AU from Earth today (5.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
17h 23m 47s
Declination
-28° 27′ 37″
Constellation
Ophiuchus
Distance from Earth
0.61 AU
Elongation from the Sun
58.66° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

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
0.747 AU
Eccentricity
0.4607
Inclination
4.33°
Orbital period
235.7 days
Perihelion
0.403 AU
Aphelion
1.091 AU
Longitude of ascending node
46.18°
Argument of periapsis
167.23°
Epoch · J2000
2459526.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 7.8 LD
0.0201 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.638

Orbit quality

Orbit very uncertain — the object may be effectively lost (uncertainty code 8).

Observations used
21
Data arc
7 days
First observed
7 November 2021
Last observed
14 November 2021
Residual RMS
0.47 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 November 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
26.17

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 28 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2021 VQ3 at 2028-10-02 16:11 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-10-02 16:11 UTC close approach of 2021 VQ3. Catalogue miss distance 102.9 LD · 3.95 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-09-29 to 2028-10-05, 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 Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 102.9 LD · 3.95 × 10⁷ km 2028-10-02 16:11 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-10-02 16:11 UTC close approach of 2021 VQ3. Catalogue miss distance 102.9 LD · 3.95 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-09-29 to 2028-10-05, 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 Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2028-10-02 16:11:00 Earth 0.2643 AU 102.9 LD 19.6 km/s
2032-11-24 21:38:00 Earth 0.037 AU 14.4 LD 11.9 km/s

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

Sources