2026 HJ3 is an asteroid in the Aten orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.83 AU to 1.16 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 361.6 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 9 May 2026.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 0.975 AU
- True anomaly
- 266.93°
- Distance from Earth
- 0.543 AU
- As of
- 2 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
- 19h 47m 57s
- Declination
- -33° 09′ 22″
- Constellation
- Sagittarius
- Distance from Earth
- 0.54 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 72.09° — well clear of the Sun
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.
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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
- 0.993 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.1637
- Inclination
- 11.81°
- Orbital period
- 361.6 days
- Perihelion
- 0.831 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.156 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 43.11°
- Argument of periapsis
- 58.34°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · ATE
- Aten
- Earth MOID · 15.7 LD
- 0.0404 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 6.082
Orbit quality
Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).
- Observations used
- 48
- Data arc
- 15 days
- First observed
- 23 April 2026
- Last observed
- 8 May 2026
- Residual RMS
- 0.47 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 9 May 2026
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 25.73
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 29 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-05-01 21:44 UTC close approach of 2026 HJ3. Catalogue miss distance 30.1 LD · 1.16 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-04-28 to 2027-05-04, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2027-05-01 21:44:00 | Earth | 0.0773 AU | 30.1 LD | 6.5 km/s |
| 2028-05-08 19:15:00 | Earth | 0.1268 AU | 49.3 LD | 6.3 km/s |
| 2029-05-20 20:45:00 | Earth | 0.1738 AU | 67.6 LD | 6.3 km/s |
| 2030-12-09 05:41:00 | Earth | 0.192 AU | 74.7 LD | 7.2 km/s |
| 2031-11-23 15:55:00 | Earth | 0.1572 AU | 61.2 LD | 7.3 km/s |
| 2032-11-08 23:48:00 | Earth | 0.1212 AU | 47.2 LD | 7.3 km/s |
| 2033-10-28 06:46:00 | Earth | 0.0943 AU | 36.7 LD | 7.5 km/s |
| 2034-10-18 11:13:00 | Earth | 0.0939 AU | 36.5 LD | 8 km/s |
| 2035-10-10 06:24:00 | Earth | 0.1259 AU | 49.0 LD | 9 km/s |
| 2036-10-02 06:25:00 | Earth | 0.1775 AU | 69.1 LD | 10.4 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