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Asteroid Near-Earth

2023 OQ2

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(2023 OQ2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.958 AU
True anomaly
223.22°
Distance from Earth
0.774 AU
As of
19 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 — 0.996 AU from the Sun Earth 2023 OQ2 — 0.958 AU from the Sun 2023 OQ2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2023 OQ2 is 0.774 AU from Earth today (6.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
18h 03m 40s
Declination
-21° 13′ 56″
Constellation
Sagittarius
Distance from Earth
0.77 AU
Elongation from the Sun
64.07° — 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
0.847 AU
Eccentricity
0.2157
Inclination
3.21°
Orbital period
284.8 days
Perihelion
0.664 AU
Aphelion
1.03 AU
Longitude of ascending node
306.62°
Argument of periapsis
170.01°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 2.8 LD
0.0072 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.929

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
30
Data arc
13 days
First observed
22 July 2023
Last observed
4 August 2023
Residual RMS
0.56 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
10 October 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
27.23

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 137 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2023 OQ2 at 2027-01-23 14:54 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-01-23 14:54 UTC close approach of 2023 OQ2. Catalogue miss distance 124.2 LD · 4.77 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-01-20 to 2027-01-26, 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 124.2 LD · 4.77 × 10⁷ km 2027-01-23 14:54 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-01-23 14:54 UTC close approach of 2023 OQ2. Catalogue miss distance 124.2 LD · 4.77 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-01-20 to 2027-01-26, 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
2027-01-23 14:54:00 Earth 0.3191 AU 124.2 LD 10.2 km/s
2029-04-23 09:59:00 Venus 0.1134 AU 44.1 LD 11.2 km/s
2030-06-26 11:05:00 Earth 0.0428 AU 16.7 LD 4.7 km/s
2032-08-03 00:24:00 Venus 0.0801 AU 31.2 LD 7.8 km/s
2034-02-12 14:22:00 Earth 0.3083 AU 120.0 LD 9.5 km/s
2034-08-10 03:32:00 Earth 0.4207 AU 163.7 LD 17 km/s
2037-06-22 06:57:00 Earth 0.2104 AU 81.9 LD 10.3 km/s
2037-11-20 16:00:00 Earth 0.2667 AU 103.8 LD 6.9 km/s
2041-02-09 14:05:00 Venus 0.0569 AU 22.2 LD 6.3 km/s
2041-03-16 12:14:00 Earth 0.2705 AU 105.3 LD 7.1 km/s

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

Sources