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Asteroid Near-Earth

2023 RF4

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(2023 RF4)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.151 AU
True anomaly
214.97°
Distance from Earth
0.914 AU
As of
22 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 — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth 2023 RF4 — 1.151 AU from the Sun 2023 RF4
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2023 RF4 is 0.914 AU from Earth today (7.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 00m 22s
Declination
+06° 47′ 10″
Constellation
Cancer
Distance from Earth
0.91 AU
Elongation from the Sun
74.04° — well clear of the Sun

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
0.936 AU
Eccentricity
0.349
Inclination
7.78°
Orbital period
330.7 days
Perihelion
0.609 AU
Aphelion
1.263 AU
Longitude of ascending node
169.22°
Argument of periapsis
54.45°
Epoch · J2000
2460200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 3.2 LD
0.0083 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.347

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).

Observations used
202
Data arc
10 days
First observed
10 September 2023
Last observed
20 September 2023
Residual RMS
0.35 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
20 September 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.26

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 120 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2023 RF4 at 2032-09-18 07:18 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2032-09-18 07:18 UTC close approach of 2023 RF4. Catalogue miss distance 117.1 LD · 4.5 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2032-09-15 to 2032-09-21, 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 117.1 LD · 4.5 × 10⁷ km 2032-09-18 07:18 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2032-09-18 07:18 UTC close approach of 2023 RF4. Catalogue miss distance 117.1 LD · 4.5 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2032-09-15 to 2032-09-21, 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
2027-01-07 02:44:00 Venus 0.1223 AU 47.6 LD 16.5 km/s
2032-09-18 07:18:00 Earth 0.301 AU 117.1 LD 20.1 km/s
2033-10-02 19:29:00 Earth 0.2268 AU 88.3 LD 8.2 km/s
2034-05-02 18:29:00 Earth 0.4074 AU 158.6 LD 15.1 km/s
2034-12-29 06:28:00 Earth 0.2174 AU 84.6 LD 6.8 km/s
2035-01-31 06:32:00 Earth 0.2212 AU 86.1 LD 6.5 km/s
2035-12-24 21:56:00 Earth 0.4151 AU 161.5 LD 23.3 km/s
2038-12-15 15:41:00 Venus 0.1157 AU 45.0 LD 12.9 km/s
2040-09-01 06:07:00 Venus 0.1243 AU 48.4 LD 10.6 km/s
2042-05-29 02:55:00 Venus 0.0789 AU 30.7 LD 14.1 km/s

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

Sources