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Asteroid Near-Earth

2026 GL

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(2026 GL)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.101 AU
True anomaly
132.97°
Distance from Earth
1.127 AU
As of
24 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 — 0.994 AU from the Sun Earth 2026 GL — 1.101 AU from the Sun 2026 GL
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2026 GL is 1.127 AU from Earth today (9.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 44m 50s
Declination
-07° 55′ 19″
Constellation
Sextans
Distance from Earth
1.13 AU
Elongation from the Sun
62.19° — well clear of the Sun

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
0.971 AU
Eccentricity
0.261
Inclination
20.85°
Orbital period
349.6 days
Perihelion
0.718 AU
Aphelion
1.225 AU
Longitude of ascending node
191.56°
Argument of periapsis
130.24°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 27.6 LD
0.0709 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.137

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
59
Data arc
9 days
First observed
6 April 2026
Last observed
15 April 2026
Residual RMS
0.52 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
16 April 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.62

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 16 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2026 GL at 2048-04-05 22:27 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2048-04-05 22:27 UTC close approach of 2026 GL. Catalogue miss distance 43.6 LD · 1.67 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2048-04-02 to 2048-04-08, 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 43.6 LD · 1.67 × 10⁷ km 2048-04-05 22:27 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2048-04-05 22:27 UTC close approach of 2026 GL. Catalogue miss distance 43.6 LD · 1.67 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2048-04-02 to 2048-04-08, 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
2048-04-05 22:27:00 Earth 0.1119 AU 43.6 LD 11.7 km/s
2049-04-06 23:05:00 Earth 0.1718 AU 66.8 LD 16 km/s
2071-04-08 16:00:00 Earth 0.1012 AU 39.4 LD 14.2 km/s
2093-04-08 07:53:00 Earth 0.0747 AU 29.1 LD 13.2 km/s
2111-10-24 15:35:00 Earth 0.1995 AU 77.6 LD 14.3 km/s
2115-04-09 17:35:00 Earth 0.0717 AU 27.9 LD 12.8 km/s
2137-04-08 22:54:00 Earth 0.0782 AU 30.4 LD 12.4 km/s
2160-04-08 04:51:00 Earth 0.1691 AU 65.8 LD 16 km/s
2181-04-02 16:44:00 Earth 0.1849 AU 71.9 LD 11.1 km/s
2182-04-09 21:04:00 Earth 0.095 AU 37.0 LD 14 km/s

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

Sources