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Asteroid Near-Earth

2021 VC4

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(2021 VC4)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.839 AU
True anomaly
103.65°
Distance from Earth
0.166 AU
As of
11 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 — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth 2021 VC4 — 0.839 AU from the Sun 2021 VC4
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 VC4 is 0.166 AU from Earth today (1.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 06m 02s
Declination
-03° 46′ 22″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
0.16 AU
Elongation from the Sun
14.55° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
0.886 AU
Eccentricity
0.3675
Inclination
2.36°
Orbital period
304.4 days
Perihelion
0.56 AU
Aphelion
1.211 AU
Longitude of ascending node
240.18°
Argument of periapsis
32.21°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 5.3 LD
0.0136 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.643

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
14
Data arc
24 hours
First observed
7 November 2021
Last observed
8 November 2021
Residual RMS
0.48 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
8 November 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
26.88

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 182 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2021 VC4 at 2026-11-03 17:30 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-11-03 17:30 UTC close approach of 2021 VC4. Catalogue miss distance 5.96 LD · 2.29 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-10-31 to 2026-11-06, 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 1 Nov 5 Nov 5.96 LD · 2.29 × 10⁶ km 2026-11-03 17:30 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-11-03 17:30 UTC close approach of 2021 VC4. Catalogue miss distance 5.96 LD · 2.29 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-10-31 to 2026-11-06, 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
2026-09-13 14:20:00 Venus 0.1298 AU 50.5 LD 9.1 km/s
2026-11-03 17:30:00 Earth 0.0153 AU 6.0 LD 11.2 km/s
2027-06-18 16:39:00 Earth 0.4544 AU 176.9 LD 17.2 km/s
2028-02-11 22:29:00 Earth 0.1404 AU 54.7 LD 15.1 km/s
2031-11-04 09:33:00 Earth 0.0447 AU 17.4 LD 12.3 km/s
2032-06-22 05:40:00 Earth 0.4552 AU 177.1 LD 17.2 km/s
2033-02-12 15:17:00 Earth 0.1008 AU 39.2 LD 13.8 km/s
2035-10-07 15:10:00 Venus 0.1311 AU 51.0 LD 10.4 km/s
2036-11-04 21:06:00 Earth 0.0972 AU 37.8 LD 13.9 km/s
2037-06-28 06:27:00 Earth 0.4552 AU 177.2 LD 17.2 km/s

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

Sources