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Asteroid Near-Earth

2021 KD16

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(2021 KD16)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.813 AU
True anomaly
130.3°
Distance from Earth
1.781 AU
As of
15 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 KD16 — 0.813 AU from the Sun 2021 KD16
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2021 KD16 is 1.781 AU from Earth today (14.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 54m 19s
Declination
-04° 16′ 17″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.79 AU
Elongation from the Sun
9.29° — 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
0.732 AU
Eccentricity
0.4957
Inclination
3.66°
Orbital period
228.7 days
Perihelion
0.369 AU
Aphelion
1.095 AU
Longitude of ascending node
125.2°
Argument of periapsis
286.46°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 19.2 LD
0.0494 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.759

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
31
Data arc
5.02 years
First observed
30 May 2021
Last observed
6 June 2026
Residual RMS
0.42 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
6 June 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.76

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 176 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2021 KD16 at 2031-05-22 04:12 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2031-05-22 04:12 UTC close approach of 2021 KD16. Catalogue miss distance 38.3 LD · 1.47 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2031-05-19 to 2031-05-25, 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 38.3 LD · 1.47 × 10⁷ km 2031-05-22 04:12 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2031-05-22 04:12 UTC close approach of 2021 KD16. Catalogue miss distance 38.3 LD · 1.47 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2031-05-19 to 2031-05-25, 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
2028-07-09 12:50:00 Merc 0.0534 AU 20.8 LD 7.4 km/s
2028-07-09 12:50:00 Mercury 0.0534 AU 20.8 LD 7.4 km/s
2030-12-10 03:45:00 Venus 0.1108 AU 43.1 LD 23.1 km/s
2031-05-22 04:12:00 Earth 0.0984 AU 38.3 LD 9.4 km/s
2031-07-25 09:32:00 Venus 0.0445 AU 17.3 LD 19.3 km/s
2031-08-26 23:11:00 Merc 0.055 AU 21.4 LD 7.4 km/s
2031-08-26 23:11:00 Mercury 0.055 AU 21.4 LD 7.4 km/s
2032-03-08 02:12:00 Venus 0.0616 AU 24.0 LD 15.6 km/s
2032-10-18 17:24:00 Venus 0.1328 AU 51.7 LD 12.3 km/s
2034-10-13 11:05:00 Merc 0.0562 AU 21.9 LD 7.4 km/s

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

Sources