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Asteroid Near-Earth

2021 XF5

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(2021 XF5)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.535 AU
True anomaly
50.13°
Distance from Earth
1.121 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 XF5 — 0.535 AU from the Sun 2021 XF5
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 XF5 is 1.121 AU from Earth today (9.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
15h 19m 40s
Declination
-17° 23′ 37″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
1.12 AU
Elongation from the Sun
28.59° — 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
0.748 AU
Eccentricity
0.3515
Inclination
3.38°
Orbital period
236.3 days
Perihelion
0.485 AU
Aphelion
1.011 AU
Longitude of ascending node
260.11°
Argument of periapsis
344.46°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 0.9 LD
0.0023 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.665

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
38
Data arc
5 days
First observed
8 December 2021
Last observed
13 December 2021
Residual RMS
0.52 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
14 December 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
27.7

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 83 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2021 XF5 at 2029-04-18 13:54 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-04-18 13:54 UTC close approach of 2021 XF5. Catalogue miss distance 191.8 LD · 7.37 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-04-15 to 2029-04-21, 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 191.8 LD · 7.37 × 10⁷ km 2029-04-18 13:54 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-04-18 13:54 UTC close approach of 2021 XF5. Catalogue miss distance 191.8 LD · 7.37 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-04-15 to 2029-04-21, 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
2029-04-18 13:54:00 Earth 0.4927 AU 191.8 LD 17.5 km/s
2030-11-04 15:38:00 Earth 0.1802 AU 70.1 LD 13.1 km/s
2031-03-07 23:26:00 Earth 0.3883 AU 151.1 LD 9.2 km/s
2032-12-13 02:49:00 Earth 0.0052 AU 2.0 LD 7 km/s
2032-12-13 07:06:00 Moon 0.0029 AU 1.1 LD 8 km/s
2033-10-02 20:42:00 Venus 0.1207 AU 47.0 LD 17.4 km/s
2034-12-19 07:21:00 Earth 0.2572 AU 100.1 LD 15.9 km/s
2052-09-21 11:12:00 Mercury 0.0586 AU 22.8 LD 16.1 km/s
2052-09-21 11:12:00 Merc 0.0586 AU 22.8 LD 16.1 km/s

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

Sources