Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2025 BU3

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2025 BU3)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.979 AU
True anomaly
152.34°
Distance from Earth
0.915 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 2025 BU3 — 0.979 AU from the Sun 2025 BU3
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2025 BU3 is 0.915 AU from Earth today (7.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 57m 17s
Declination
+25° 10′ 22″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
0.91 AU
Elongation from the Sun
61.45° — 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
0.741 AU
Eccentricity
0.4369
Inclination
14.03°
Orbital period
233.2 days
Perihelion
0.418 AU
Aphelion
1.065 AU
Longitude of ascending node
309.75°
Argument of periapsis
334.84°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 1.7 LD
0.0044 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.676

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
44
Data arc
4 days
First observed
24 January 2025
Last observed
28 January 2025
Residual RMS
0.57 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
29 January 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.94

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 104 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2025 BU3 at 2032-01-21 18:18 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2032-01-21 18:18 UTC close approach of 2025 BU3. Catalogue miss distance 36.3 LD · 1.39 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2032-01-18 to 2032-01-24, 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 north of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 36.3 LD · 1.39 × 10⁷ km 2032-01-21 18:18 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2032-01-21 18:18 UTC close approach of 2025 BU3. Catalogue miss distance 36.3 LD · 1.39 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2032-01-18 to 2032-01-24, 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 north 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
2032-01-21 18:18:00 Earth 0.0932 AU 36.3 LD 10.6 km/s
2034-04-01 07:26:00 Merc 0.0439 AU 17.1 LD 23.2 km/s
2034-04-01 07:26:00 Mercury 0.0439 AU 17.1 LD 23.2 km/s
2036-02-24 22:50:00 Mercury 0.0478 AU 18.6 LD 20.6 km/s
2036-02-24 22:50:00 Merc 0.0478 AU 18.6 LD 20.6 km/s
2038-01-18 14:58:00 Merc 0.0869 AU 33.8 LD 22.5 km/s
2038-01-18 14:58:00 Mercury 0.0869 AU 33.8 LD 22.5 km/s
2045-12-17 13:29:00 Earth 0.191 AU 74.3 LD 12.1 km/s
2047-01-09 07:21:00 Merc 0.0948 AU 36.9 LD 28.5 km/s
2047-01-09 07:21:00 Mercury 0.0948 AU 36.9 LD 28.5 km/s

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

Sources