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Asteroid Near-Earth

2026 JB2

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(2026 JB2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.962 AU
True anomaly
164.47°
Distance from Earth
1.945 AU
As of
15 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 JB2 — 0.962 AU from the Sun 2026 JB2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2026 JB2 is 1.945 AU from Earth today (16.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 51m 00s
Declination
-11° 06′ 58″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.95 AU
Elongation from the Sun
6.69° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
0.612 AU
Eccentricity
0.7159
Inclination
7.29°
Orbital period
175 days
Perihelion
0.174 AU
Aphelion
1.051 AU
Longitude of ascending node
41.02°
Argument of periapsis
10.72°
Epoch · J2000
2461162.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 0.2 LD
0.0004 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
8.974

Orbit quality

Orbit very uncertain — the object may be effectively lost (uncertainty code 9).

Observations used
9
First observed
2 May 2026
Last observed
2 May 2026
Residual RMS
0.65 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
11 May 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
26.52

Discovery & classification

Listed by JPL impact monitoring; see the Sentry table for current probabilities.

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 22 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2026 JB2 at 2027-05-17 06:00 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-05-17 06:00 UTC close approach of 2026 JB2. Catalogue miss distance 18.2 LD · 6.99 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-05-14 to 2027-05-20, 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 15 May 20 May 18.2 LD · 6.99 × 10⁶ km 2027-05-17 06:00 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-05-17 06:00 UTC close approach of 2026 JB2. Catalogue miss distance 18.2 LD · 6.99 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-05-14 to 2027-05-20, 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
2027-02-20 15:28:00 Mercury 0.0338 AU 13.2 LD 32.9 km/s
2027-02-20 15:28:00 Merc 0.0338 AU 13.2 LD 32.9 km/s
2027-05-17 06:00:00 Earth 0.0467 AU 18.2 LD 14.3 km/s
2027-08-15 06:44:00 Mercury 0.0248 AU 9.6 LD 31.7 km/s
2027-08-15 06:44:00 Merc 0.0248 AU 9.6 LD 31.7 km/s
2028-02-06 22:23:00 Mercury 0.0162 AU 6.3 LD 30.6 km/s
2028-02-06 22:23:00 Merc 0.0162 AU 6.3 LD 30.6 km/s
2028-05-25 06:24:00 Earth 0.0969 AU 37.7 LD 17.8 km/s
2028-06-11 07:20:00 Venus 0.148 AU 57.6 LD 19.9 km/s
2028-07-31 14:09:00 Mercury 0.0076 AU 3.0 LD 29.4 km/s

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

Sources