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Asteroid Near-Earth

2023 VQ5

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(2023 VQ5)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.59 AU
True anomaly
74.59°
Distance from Earth
1.048 AU
As of
16 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 — 0.997 AU from the Sun Earth 2023 VQ5 — 0.59 AU from the Sun 2023 VQ5
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2023 VQ5 is 1.048 AU from Earth today (8.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
15h 40m 23s
Declination
-16° 24′ 03″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
1.05 AU
Elongation from the Sun
33.4° — 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
0.738 AU
Eccentricity
0.3542
Inclination
5.64°
Orbital period
231.5 days
Perihelion
0.476 AU
Aphelion
0.999 AU
Longitude of ascending node
228.39°
Argument of periapsis
2.41°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 2.8 LD
0.0073 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.753

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
48
Data arc
5 days
First observed
9 November 2023
Last observed
14 November 2023
Residual RMS
0.42 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
14 November 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
27.72

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 144 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2023 VQ5 at 2028-10-28 16:20 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-10-28 16:20 UTC close approach of 2023 VQ5. Catalogue miss distance 131.7 LD · 5.06 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-10-25 to 2028-10-31, 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 131.7 LD · 5.06 × 10⁷ km 2028-10-28 16:20 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-10-28 16:20 UTC close approach of 2023 VQ5. Catalogue miss distance 131.7 LD · 5.06 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-10-25 to 2028-10-31, 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
2026-09-26 03:39:00 Merc 0.0646 AU 25.1 LD 15.9 km/s
2026-09-26 03:39:00 Mercury 0.0646 AU 25.1 LD 15.9 km/s
2028-10-28 16:20:00 Earth 0.3383 AU 131.7 LD 18.4 km/s
2029-03-10 20:19:00 Earth 0.4451 AU 173.2 LD 13.5 km/s
2030-12-04 11:54:00 Earth 0.0878 AU 34.2 LD 9.3 km/s
2033-09-08 21:45:00 Mercury 0.0535 AU 20.8 LD 17.6 km/s
2033-09-08 21:45:00 Merc 0.0535 AU 20.8 LD 17.6 km/s
2035-10-25 05:55:00 Earth 0.1653 AU 64.3 LD 12.3 km/s
2036-02-13 04:27:00 Earth 0.3711 AU 144.4 LD 7.3 km/s
2037-08-02 18:04:00 Earth 0.4162 AU 162.0 LD 9.9 km/s

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

Sources