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Asteroid Near-Earth

2021 XH3

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(2021 XH3)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.931 AU
True anomaly
261.45°
Distance from Earth
1.923 AU
As of
21 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 — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth 2021 XH3 — 0.931 AU from the Sun 2021 XH3
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 XH3 is 1.923 AU from Earth today (16.0 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 35m 06s
Declination
-11° 55′ 12″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.92 AU
Elongation from the Sun
3.29° — 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
0.93 AU
Eccentricity
0.1392
Inclination
4.25°
Orbital period
327.4 days
Perihelion
0.8 AU
Aphelion
1.059 AU
Longitude of ascending node
268.78°
Argument of periapsis
32.37°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 10.5 LD
0.0269 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.432

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).

Observations used
113
Data arc
32 days
First observed
6 December 2021
Last observed
7 January 2022
Residual RMS
0.44 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
26 March 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.06

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 64 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2021 XH3 at 2029-12-07 07:01 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-12-07 07:01 UTC close approach of 2021 XH3. Catalogue miss distance 159.0 LD · 6.11 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-12-04 to 2029-12-10, 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 inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 159.0 LD · 6.11 × 10⁷ km 2029-12-07 07:01 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-12-07 07:01 UTC close approach of 2021 XH3. Catalogue miss distance 159.0 LD · 6.11 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-12-04 to 2029-12-10, 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 inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2027-10-27 22:58:00 Venus 0.1248 AU 48.6 LD 4.6 km/s
2029-12-07 07:01:00 Earth 0.4085 AU 159.0 LD 16.9 km/s
2030-09-08 20:40:00 Earth 0.1938 AU 75.4 LD 5 km/s
2031-02-22 18:20:00 Earth 0.0829 AU 32.3 LD 3.5 km/s
2038-11-30 01:59:00 Earth 0.1961 AU 76.3 LD 10.3 km/s
2039-07-24 12:09:00 Earth 0.2184 AU 85.0 LD 6.5 km/s
2040-03-14 15:10:00 Earth 0.1756 AU 68.3 LD 9.1 km/s
2047-12-07 04:07:00 Earth 0.0345 AU 13.4 LD 4.1 km/s
2048-06-05 17:37:00 Earth 0.1889 AU 73.5 LD 5.6 km/s
2049-03-05 14:49:00 Earth 0.3989 AU 155.2 LD 16.3 km/s

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

Sources