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Asteroid Near-Earth

2021 XZ5

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(2021 XZ5)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.02 AU
True anomaly
227.59°
Distance from Earth
1.971 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 XZ5 — 1.02 AU from the Sun 2021 XZ5
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 XZ5 is 1.971 AU from Earth today (16.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 16m 25s
Declination
-01° 59′ 33″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.97 AU
Elongation from the Sun
12.19° — 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
0.934 AU
Eccentricity
0.1601
Inclination
11.62°
Orbital period
329.5 days
Perihelion
0.784 AU
Aphelion
1.083 AU
Longitude of ascending node
77.8°
Argument of periapsis
241.05°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 0.3 LD
0.0006 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.392

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
18
Data arc
24 hours
First observed
12 December 2021
Last observed
13 December 2021
Residual RMS
0.37 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
28 July 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
28.29

Discovery & classification

Listed by JPL impact monitoring; see the Sentry table for current probabilities.

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 33 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2021 XZ5 at 2030-12-12 01:47 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-12-12 01:47 UTC close approach of 2021 XZ5. Catalogue miss distance 51.6 LD · 1.98 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-12-09 to 2030-12-15, 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 approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. approximate Sun 51.6 LD · 1.98 × 10⁷ km 2030-12-12 01:47 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-12-12 01:47 UTC close approach of 2021 XZ5. Catalogue miss distance 51.6 LD · 1.98 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-12-09 to 2030-12-15, 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 approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2030-12-12 01:47:00 Earth 0.1327 AU 51.6 LD 10.7 km/s
2031-07-23 05:35:00 Venus 0.093 AU 36.2 LD 5.6 km/s
2032-04-21 21:57:00 Earth 0.185 AU 72.0 LD 10 km/s
2041-05-09 14:34:00 Earth 0.1364 AU 53.1 LD 7.9 km/s
2045-02-02 23:05:00 Venus 0.0946 AU 36.8 LD 5.7 km/s
2050-06-01 15:51:00 Earth 0.1632 AU 63.5 LD 7.7 km/s
2058-08-19 01:23:00 Venus 0.108 AU 42.0 LD 6.3 km/s
2058-12-12 14:09:00 Earth 0.0802 AU 31.2 LD 6.5 km/s
2067-12-10 04:25:00 Moon 0.0089 AU 3.5 LD 7 km/s
2067-12-10 09:34:00 Earth 0.0068 AU 2.7 LD 7.6 km/s

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

Sources