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Asteroid Near-Earth

2026 DN

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(2026 DN)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.92 AU
True anomaly
136.5°
Distance from Earth
1.611 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 2026 DN — 0.92 AU from the Sun 2026 DN
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2026 DN is 1.611 AU from Earth today (13.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 30m 22s
Declination
+02° 11′ 03″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
1.61 AU
Elongation from the Sun
31.47° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

Visible from both hemispheres.

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
0.783 AU
Eccentricity
0.5062
Inclination
10.63°
Orbital period
253.1 days
Perihelion
0.387 AU
Aphelion
1.179 AU
Longitude of ascending node
146.76°
Argument of periapsis
214.27°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 1.8 LD
0.0048 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.303

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
73
Data arc
8 days
First observed
15 February 2026
Last observed
23 February 2026
Residual RMS
0.36 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
24 February 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
26.43

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 101 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2026 DN at 2035-02-14 17:48 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2035-02-14 17:48 UTC close approach of 2026 DN. Catalogue miss distance 15.3 LD · 5.89 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2035-02-11 to 2035-02-17, 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 12 Feb 17 Feb 15.3 LD · 5.89 × 10⁶ km 2035-02-14 17:48 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2035-02-14 17:48 UTC close approach of 2026 DN. Catalogue miss distance 15.3 LD · 5.89 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2035-02-11 to 2035-02-17, 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
2027-12-29 06:31:00 Merc 0.095 AU 37.0 LD 18.7 km/s
2027-12-29 06:31:00 Mercury 0.095 AU 37.0 LD 18.7 km/s
2028-10-21 22:05:00 Venus 0.1249 AU 48.6 LD 22.7 km/s
2033-07-17 15:56:00 Merc 0.0682 AU 26.5 LD 16.7 km/s
2033-07-17 15:56:00 Mercury 0.0682 AU 26.5 LD 16.7 km/s
2035-02-14 17:48:00 Earth 0.0394 AU 15.3 LD 15.3 km/s
2039-02-05 19:39:00 Mercury 0.0242 AU 9.4 LD 16.7 km/s
2039-02-05 19:39:00 Merc 0.0242 AU 9.4 LD 16.7 km/s
2040-04-23 15:32:00 Earth 0.1931 AU 75.2 LD 16.1 km/s
2044-02-16 05:45:00 Earth 0.114 AU 44.4 LD 17.6 km/s

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

Sources