2026 CW is an asteroid in the Apollo orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.8 AU to 1.24 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 375.9 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 26 February 2026.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 0.824 AU
- True anomaly
- 327.94°
- Distance from Earth
- 0.7 AU
- As of
- 3 November 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.
In the sky
- Right ascension
- 18h 29m 23s
- Declination
- -22° 04′ 30″
- Constellation
- Sagittarius
- Distance from Earth
- 0.7 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 55.03° — 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.
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
- 1.019 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.2135
- Inclination
- 2.78°
- Orbital period
- 375.9 days
- Perihelion
- 0.802 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.237 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 336.5°
- Argument of periapsis
- 52.73°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · APO
- Apollo
- Earth MOID · 10.3 LD
- 0.0264 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 5.969
Orbit quality
Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).
- Observations used
- 27
- Data arc
- 16 days
- First observed
- 5 February 2026
- Last observed
- 21 February 2026
- Residual RMS
- 0.64 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 26 February 2026
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 24.87
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 53 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2055-07-03 21:13 UTC close approach of 2026 CW. Catalogue miss distance 67.6 LD · 2.6 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2055-06-30 to 2055-07-06, 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.
| When (UTC) | Body | Distance | Lunar distances | Relative speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2055-07-03 21:13:00 | Earth | 0.1736 AU | 67.6 LD | 11.3 km/s |
| 2056-07-11 15:08:00 | Earth | 0.0365 AU | 14.2 LD | 6.3 km/s |
| 2062-01-27 13:16:00 | Earth | 0.0922 AU | 35.9 LD | 9 km/s |
Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.
Sources
- visual properties: JPL SBDB (lookup)
- orbital elements: JPL SBDB