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Asteroid Near-Earth

2023 AK

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(2023 AK)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.586 AU
True anomaly
288.82°
Distance from Earth
1.562 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 2023 AK — 0.586 AU from the Sun 2023 AK
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2023 AK is 1.562 AU from Earth today (13.0 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 07m 17s
Declination
-05° 02′ 46″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.56 AU
Elongation from the Sun
6.8° — 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
0.804 AU
Eccentricity
0.4166
Inclination
5.41°
Orbital period
263.3 days
Perihelion
0.469 AU
Aphelion
1.139 AU
Longitude of ascending node
111.07°
Argument of periapsis
144.96°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 2.3 LD
0.006 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.183

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
41
Data arc
3 days
First observed
12 January 2023
Last observed
15 January 2023
Residual RMS
0.39 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
17 January 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
27.75

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 180 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2023 AK at 2027-09-13 14:21 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-09-13 14:21 UTC close approach of 2023 AK. Catalogue miss distance 140.8 LD · 5.41 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-09-10 to 2027-09-16, 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 a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 140.8 LD · 5.41 × 10⁷ km 2027-09-13 14:21 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-09-13 14:21 UTC close approach of 2023 AK. Catalogue miss distance 140.8 LD · 5.41 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-09-10 to 2027-09-16, 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 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
2027-09-13 14:21:00 Earth 0.3618 AU 140.8 LD 6.2 km/s
2027-12-12 07:07:00 Earth 0.1628 AU 63.4 LD 9.1 km/s
2029-11-03 01:00:00 Venus 0.0828 AU 32.2 LD 19.1 km/s
2031-01-05 15:10:00 Earth 0.3907 AU 152.0 LD 24.2 km/s
2032-11-02 09:17:00 Earth 0.0922 AU 35.9 LD 10.5 km/s
2033-04-15 13:36:00 Earth 0.4785 AU 186.2 LD 16.2 km/s
2036-01-15 08:07:00 Earth 0.1089 AU 42.4 LD 14.8 km/s
2037-11-05 15:16:00 Earth 0.2631 AU 102.4 LD 19.2 km/s
2040-08-19 13:35:00 Earth 0.428 AU 166.6 LD 12.3 km/s
2040-12-30 20:18:00 Earth 0.1253 AU 48.7 LD 9.1 km/s

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

Sources