2022 VA3 is an asteroid in the Aten orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.67 AU to 1.29 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 352.9 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 4 December 2024.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 1.268 AU
- True anomaly
- 164.34°
- Distance from Earth
- 0.605 AU
- As of
- 24 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.
In the sky
- Right ascension
- 07h 24m 26s
- Declination
- +23° 13′ 02″
- Constellation
- Gemini
- Distance from Earth
- 0.6 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 102.37° — well clear of the Sun
Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.
From your location
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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
- 0.977 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.3195
- Inclination
- 13.13°
- Orbital period
- 352.9 days
- Perihelion
- 0.665 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.29 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 241.75°
- Argument of periapsis
- 12.97°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · ATE
- Aten
- Earth MOID · 68.2 LD
- 0.1752 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 6.124
Orbit quality
Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 2).
- Observations used
- 61
- Data arc
- 3.09 years
- First observed
- 2 November 2021
- Last observed
- 4 December 2024
- Residual RMS
- 0.59 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 4 December 2024
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 22.65
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 45 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2051-10-16 16:43 UTC close approach of 2022 VA3. Catalogue miss distance 71.7 LD · 2.76 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2051-10-13 to 2051-10-19, 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.
| When (UTC) | Body | Distance | Lunar distances | Relative speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2030-04-05 18:19:00 | Venus | 0.0657 AU | 25.6 LD | 12.9 km/s |
| 2037-01-07 20:23:00 | Venus | 0.0593 AU | 23.1 LD | 13 km/s |
| 2043-10-14 08:46:00 | Venus | 0.0576 AU | 22.4 LD | 13 km/s |
| 2050-07-19 07:55:00 | Venus | 0.0568 AU | 22.1 LD | 13.1 km/s |
| 2051-10-16 16:43:00 | Earth | 0.1842 AU | 71.7 LD | 9.8 km/s |
| 2057-04-23 05:33:00 | Venus | 0.0581 AU | 22.6 LD | 13.2 km/s |
| 2064-01-26 00:12:00 | Venus | 0.0653 AU | 25.4 LD | 13.4 km/s |
| 2070-10-29 05:19:00 | Venus | 0.0808 AU | 31.5 LD | 13.8 km/s |
| 2077-07-30 17:22:00 | Venus | 0.1145 AU | 44.5 LD | 14.8 km/s |
| 2079-10-11 19:17:00 | Earth | 0.1774 AU | 69.0 LD | 11.4 km/s |
Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.
Sources
- visual properties: JPL SBDB (lookup)
- orbital elements: JPL SBDB