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Asteroid Near-Earth

2022 LW

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(2022 LW)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.026 AU
True anomaly
131.17°
Distance from Earth
2.021 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 2022 LW — 1.026 AU from the Sun 2022 LW
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2022 LW is 2.021 AU from Earth today (16.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 54m 28s
Declination
-11° 21′ 29″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
2.02 AU
Elongation from the Sun
1.36° — 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
0.935 AU
Eccentricity
0.1794
Inclination
2.67°
Orbital period
330.4 days
Perihelion
0.767 AU
Aphelion
1.103 AU
Longitude of ascending node
196.96°
Argument of periapsis
242.9°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 1.7 LD
0.0043 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.397

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).

Observations used
26
Data arc
51 days
First observed
2 June 2022
Last observed
23 July 2022
Residual RMS
0.35 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
17 August 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.59

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 148 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2022 LW at 2031-04-13 22:22 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2031-04-13 22:22 UTC close approach of 2022 LW. Catalogue miss distance 48.3 LD · 1.86 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2031-04-10 to 2031-04-16, 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 48.3 LD · 1.86 × 10⁷ km 2031-04-13 22:22 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2031-04-13 22:22 UTC close approach of 2022 LW. Catalogue miss distance 48.3 LD · 1.86 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2031-04-10 to 2031-04-16, 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
2031-04-13 22:22:00 Earth 0.1242 AU 48.3 LD 8.3 km/s
2031-12-09 06:02:00 Earth 0.2196 AU 85.5 LD 6.7 km/s
2032-08-05 19:32:00 Earth 0.1284 AU 50.0 LD 8.2 km/s
2037-04-17 16:16:00 Venus 0.1352 AU 52.6 LD 3.6 km/s
2039-03-06 06:42:00 Venus 0.1495 AU 58.2 LD 7.7 km/s
2040-04-25 12:54:00 Earth 0.4133 AU 160.9 LD 17.1 km/s
2041-02-14 04:37:00 Earth 0.1623 AU 63.1 LD 3.9 km/s
2041-06-08 02:17:00 Earth 0.098 AU 38.1 LD 3.7 km/s
2041-10-01 19:50:00 Earth 0.1573 AU 61.2 LD 4 km/s
2042-07-24 16:15:00 Earth 0.4148 AU 161.4 LD 16.9 km/s

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

Sources