Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2024 WU3

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2024 WU3)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.102 AU
True anomaly
147.96°
Distance from Earth
1.035 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 2024 WU3 — 1.102 AU from the Sun 2024 WU3
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2024 WU3 is 1.035 AU from Earth today (8.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 50m 48s
Declination
+17° 53′ 27″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
1.04 AU
Elongation from the Sun
65.71° — 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
0.939 AU
Eccentricity
0.2254
Inclination
9.65°
Orbital period
332.3 days
Perihelion
0.727 AU
Aphelion
1.151 AU
Longitude of ascending node
62.07°
Argument of periapsis
238.47°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 5.1 LD
0.0131 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.358

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).

Observations used
16
Data arc
3 days
First observed
21 November 2024
Last observed
24 November 2024
Residual RMS
0.55 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
25 November 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
28.17

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 47 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2024 WU3 at 2034-11-21 06:59 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2034-11-21 06:59 UTC close approach of 2024 WU3. Catalogue miss distance 22.2 LD · 8.52 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2034-11-18 to 2034-11-24, 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 22.2 LD · 8.52 × 10⁶ km 2034-11-21 06:59 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2034-11-21 06:59 UTC close approach of 2024 WU3. Catalogue miss distance 22.2 LD · 8.52 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2034-11-18 to 2034-11-24, 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
2034-09-17 01:20:00 Venus 0.0865 AU 33.7 LD 5.5 km/s
2034-11-21 06:59:00 Earth 0.0569 AU 22.2 LD 9.9 km/s
2036-05-03 05:27:00 Earth 0.1774 AU 69.0 LD 7.3 km/s
2036-06-03 18:02:00 Venus 0.0888 AU 34.5 LD 9.2 km/s
2044-11-24 09:22:00 Earth 0.1896 AU 73.8 LD 13.7 km/s
2055-12-23 05:29:00 Earth 0.1898 AU 73.9 LD 6.5 km/s
2057-03-27 11:24:00 Earth 0.1966 AU 76.5 LD 12.2 km/s
2057-07-01 19:04:00 Venus 0.1462 AU 56.9 LD 10.6 km/s
2059-03-16 04:01:00 Venus 0.0556 AU 21.7 LD 5.3 km/s
2065-11-25 01:18:00 Earth 0.0884 AU 34.4 LD 6.7 km/s

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

Sources