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Asteroid Near-Earth

2023 XH3

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(2023 XH3)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.526 AU
True anomaly
254.03°
Distance from Earth
0.64 AU
As of
11 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.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth 2023 XH3 — 1.526 AU from the Sun 2023 XH3
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2023 XH3 is 0.64 AU from Earth today (5.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
04h 03m 08s
Declination
+17° 52′ 19″
Constellation
Taurus
Distance from Earth
0.64 AU
Elongation from the Sun
136.4° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
2.076 AU
Eccentricity
0.6258
Inclination
1.2°
Orbital period
2.99 years
Perihelion
0.777 AU
Aphelion
3.375 AU
Longitude of ascending node
112.92°
Argument of periapsis
28.32°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · APO
Apollo
Earth MOID · 4.6 LD
0.0117 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.491

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
20
Data arc
3 days
First observed
6 December 2023
Last observed
9 December 2023
Residual RMS
0.35 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
29 December 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
27.02

Discovery & classification

Apollo Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 8 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2023 XH3 at 2026-12-06 19:09 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-12-06 19:09 UTC close approach of 2023 XH3. Catalogue miss distance 18.6 LD · 7.15 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-12-03 to 2026-12-09, 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 4 Dec 9 Dec 18.6 LD · 7.15 × 10⁶ km 2026-12-06 19:09 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-12-06 19:09 UTC close approach of 2023 XH3. Catalogue miss distance 18.6 LD · 7.15 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-12-03 to 2026-12-09, 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
2026-12-06 19:09:00 Earth 0.0478 AU 18.6 LD 16.5 km/s
2122-06-10 00:53:00 Mars 0.0213 AU 8.3 LD 18.4 km/s
2190-12-10 08:37:00 Earth 0.0211 AU 8.2 LD 15.3 km/s

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

Sources