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Asteroid Near-Earth

2023 VR4

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(2023 VR4)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.689 AU
True anomaly
17.36°
Distance from Earth
1.444 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 VR4 — 0.689 AU from the Sun 2023 VR4
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2023 VR4 is 1.444 AU from Earth today (12.0 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
15h 13m 36s
Declination
-23° 41′ 46″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
1.44 AU
Elongation from the Sun
25.61° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
0.868 AU
Eccentricity
0.2119
Inclination
18.94°
Orbital period
295.3 days
Perihelion
0.684 AU
Aphelion
1.052 AU
Longitude of ascending node
54.25°
Argument of periapsis
199°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 17.5 LD
0.0449 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.751

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).

Observations used
220
Data arc
34 days
First observed
8 November 2023
Last observed
12 December 2023
Residual RMS
0.34 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
12 December 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
22.97

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 112 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2023 VR4 at 2027-11-10 01:31 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-11-10 01:31 UTC close approach of 2023 VR4. Catalogue miss distance 92.9 LD · 3.57 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-11-07 to 2027-11-13, 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. At closest approach the object is south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 92.9 LD · 3.57 × 10⁷ km 2027-11-10 01:31 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-11-10 01:31 UTC close approach of 2023 VR4. Catalogue miss distance 92.9 LD · 3.57 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-11-07 to 2027-11-13, 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. At closest approach the object is south of the ecliptic. 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
2027-11-10 01:31:00 Earth 0.2387 AU 92.9 LD 14.8 km/s
2028-05-07 10:36:00 Earth 0.3145 AU 122.4 LD 14.7 km/s
2031-11-14 11:39:00 Earth 0.4738 AU 184.4 LD 21.5 km/s
2032-06-06 03:30:00 Earth 0.3468 AU 135.0 LD 14.8 km/s
2036-07-08 15:23:00 Earth 0.3832 AU 149.1 LD 12.7 km/s
2036-12-14 08:35:00 Earth 0.3076 AU 119.7 LD 12.5 km/s
2040-11-22 17:42:00 Earth 0.124 AU 48.2 LD 10.1 km/s
2041-03-12 04:51:00 Earth 0.3235 AU 125.9 LD 10.4 km/s
2041-04-11 15:11:00 Venus 0.0746 AU 29.0 LD 12.8 km/s
2044-11-10 16:58:00 Earth 0.0958 AU 37.3 LD 11.5 km/s

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

Sources