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Asteroid Near-Earth

2026 JQ

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(2026 JQ)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.014 AU
True anomaly
123.92°
Distance from Earth
1.39 AU
As of
21 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 — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth 2026 JQ — 1.014 AU from the Sun 2026 JQ
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2026 JQ is 1.39 AU from Earth today (11.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
10h 38m 10s
Declination
-07° 39′ 57″
Constellation
Sextans
Distance from Earth
1.39 AU
Elongation from the Sun
46.87° — 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
0.927 AU
Eccentricity
0.3129
Inclination
22.18°
Orbital period
326.2 days
Perihelion
0.637 AU
Aphelion
1.218 AU
Longitude of ascending node
227.13°
Argument of periapsis
126.17°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 5.0 LD
0.0128 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.354

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
27
Data arc
24 hours
First observed
8 May 2026
Last observed
9 May 2026
Residual RMS
0.24 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
11 May 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
27.79

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 29 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2026 JQ at 2043-05-05 10:00 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2043-05-05 10:00 UTC close approach of 2026 JQ. Catalogue miss distance 66.0 LD · 2.54 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2043-05-02 to 2043-05-08, 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. 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 66.0 LD · 2.54 × 10⁷ km 2043-05-05 10:00 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2043-05-05 10:00 UTC close approach of 2026 JQ. Catalogue miss distance 66.0 LD · 2.54 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2043-05-02 to 2043-05-08, 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. 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
2039-02-28 09:10:00 Venus 0.0726 AU 28.2 LD 20.4 km/s
2043-05-05 10:00:00 Earth 0.1695 AU 66.0 LD 18 km/s
2048-12-27 04:12:00 Venus 0.0449 AU 17.5 LD 17.5 km/s
2051-05-10 03:08:00 Earth 0.0579 AU 22.5 LD 13.2 km/s
2066-11-07 08:54:00 Venus 0.1315 AU 51.2 LD 22.2 km/s
2068-05-06 14:48:00 Earth 0.1047 AU 40.8 LD 16.4 km/s
2076-05-09 03:59:00 Earth 0.1176 AU 45.7 LD 12.3 km/s
2076-09-04 16:29:00 Venus 0.005 AU 2.0 LD 18.4 km/s

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

Sources