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Asteroid Near-Earth

2023 RA

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(2023 RA)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.59 AU
True anomaly
21.05°
Distance from Earth
1.582 AU
As of
20 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 RA — 0.59 AU from the Sun 2023 RA
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2023 RA is 1.582 AU from Earth today (13.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 57m 04s
Declination
-11° 59′ 08″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.58 AU
Elongation from the Sun
3.53° — 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
0.891 AU
Eccentricity
0.3493
Inclination
0.55°
Orbital period
307.4 days
Perihelion
0.58 AU
Aphelion
1.203 AU
Longitude of ascending node
222.35°
Argument of periapsis
332.61°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 1.6 LD
0.0041 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.612

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
22
Data arc
5 days
First observed
3 September 2023
Last observed
8 September 2023
Residual RMS
0.86 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
8 September 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.14

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 120 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2023 RA at 2028-08-27 01:35 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-08-27 01:35 UTC close approach of 2023 RA. Catalogue miss distance 119.2 LD · 4.58 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-08-24 to 2028-08-30, 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 119.2 LD · 4.58 × 10⁷ km 2028-08-27 01:35 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-08-27 01:35 UTC close approach of 2023 RA. Catalogue miss distance 119.2 LD · 4.58 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-08-24 to 2028-08-30, 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
2028-08-27 01:35:00 Earth 0.3063 AU 119.2 LD 19.4 km/s
2029-05-05 02:11:00 Earth 0.407 AU 158.4 LD 14.4 km/s
2029-11-21 03:08:00 Earth 0.1168 AU 45.5 LD 7.2 km/s
2030-01-27 03:44:00 Venus 0.0969 AU 37.7 LD 7.9 km/s
2032-10-07 12:04:00 Venus 0.0588 AU 22.9 LD 14.3 km/s
2034-06-20 15:01:00 Earth 0.3129 AU 121.8 LD 8 km/s
2034-09-29 05:23:00 Earth 0.1991 AU 77.5 LD 7.8 km/s
2035-02-21 01:58:00 Earth 0.3655 AU 142.3 LD 12.2 km/s
2035-11-14 17:05:00 Earth 0.4933 AU 192.0 LD 25.5 km/s
2036-10-15 14:49:00 Venus 0.1159 AU 45.1 LD 16.9 km/s

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

Sources