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Asteroid Near-Earth

2024 XB16

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(2024 XB16)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.021 AU
True anomaly
169.67°
Distance from Earth
0.473 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 2024 XB16 — 1.021 AU from the Sun 2024 XB16
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2024 XB16 is 0.473 AU from Earth today (3.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
08h 27m 37s
Declination
+20° 33′ 56″
Constellation
Cancer
Distance from Earth
0.47 AU
Elongation from the Sun
79.32° — 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
0.751 AU
Eccentricity
0.3725
Inclination
0.8°
Orbital period
237.6 days
Perihelion
0.471 AU
Aphelion
1.03 AU
Longitude of ascending node
356.6°
Argument of periapsis
244.2°
Epoch · J2000
2460653.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 3.7 LD
0.0096 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.636

Orbit quality

Orbit very uncertain — the object may be effectively lost (uncertainty code 8).

Observations used
14
Data arc
2 days
First observed
9 December 2024
Last observed
11 December 2024
Residual RMS
0.44 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
10 December 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
26.85

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 16 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2024 XB16 at 2035-10-29 00:12 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2035-10-29 00:12 UTC close approach of 2024 XB16. Catalogue miss distance 50.2 LD · 1.93 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2035-10-26 to 2035-11-01, 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 50.2 LD · 1.93 × 10⁷ km 2035-10-29 00:12 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2035-10-29 00:12 UTC close approach of 2024 XB16. Catalogue miss distance 50.2 LD · 1.93 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2035-10-26 to 2035-11-01, 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
2028-07-29 19:14:00 Venus 0.1128 AU 43.9 LD 8.5 km/s
2035-10-29 00:12:00 Earth 0.1291 AU 50.2 LD 12.3 km/s
2037-06-13 14:14:00 Venus 0.0453 AU 17.6 LD 11.9 km/s
2039-12-20 13:42:00 Earth 0.1635 AU 63.6 LD 13.4 km/s
2040-04-12 14:07:00 Venus 0.0969 AU 37.7 LD 17.7 km/s
2048-07-09 09:35:00 Venus 0.0312 AU 12.1 LD 13.3 km/s

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

Sources