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Asteroid Near-Earth

2023 GC2

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(2023 GC2)

2023 GC2 is an asteroid in the Apollo orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.86 AU to 1.15 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 368 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 29 July 2024.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.984 AU
True anomaly
269.9°
Distance from Earth
0.631 AU
As of
3 November 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 — 0.992 AU from the Sun Earth 2023 GC2 — 0.984 AU from the Sun 2023 GC2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2023 GC2 is 0.631 AU from Earth today (5.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
19h 33m 08s
Declination
-18° 56′ 23″
Constellation
Sagittarius
Distance from Earth
0.63 AU
Elongation from the Sun
70.64° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

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
1.005 AU
Eccentricity
0.1467
Inclination
6.9°
Orbital period
368 days
Perihelion
0.857 AU
Aphelion
1.152 AU
Longitude of ascending node
198.81°
Argument of periapsis
255.26°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · APO
Apollo
Earth MOID · 5.3 LD
0.0136 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.041

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
21
Data arc
369 days
First observed
14 April 2023
Last observed
17 April 2024
Residual RMS
0.62 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
29 July 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
27.29

Discovery & classification

Apollo Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 129 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2023 GC2 at 2027-04-07 14:15 UTC Sun 50.1 LD · 1.93 × 10⁷ km 2027-04-07 14:15 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-04-07 14:15 UTC close approach of 2023 GC2. Catalogue miss distance 50.1 LD · 1.93 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-04-04 to 2027-04-10, 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
2027-04-07 14:15:00 Earth 0.1288 AU 50.1 LD 8.5 km/s
2028-04-08 21:09:00 Earth 0.1798 AU 70.0 LD 9.9 km/s
2029-04-11 05:42:00 Earth 0.2332 AU 90.8 LD 11.4 km/s
2030-04-13 22:15:00 Earth 0.2885 AU 112.3 LD 13 km/s
2031-04-16 14:38:00 Earth 0.345 AU 134.3 LD 14.6 km/s
2032-04-18 13:20:00 Earth 0.4023 AU 156.6 LD 16.3 km/s
2033-04-21 10:34:00 Earth 0.4596 AU 178.9 LD 18 km/s
2116-09-02 13:27:00 Earth 0.4599 AU 179.0 LD 17.8 km/s
2117-09-05 17:23:00 Earth 0.4028 AU 156.8 LD 16.2 km/s
2118-09-08 22:14:00 Earth 0.3463 AU 134.8 LD 14.5 km/s

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

Sources