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Asteroid Near-Earth

2026 JZ2

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(2026 JZ2)

2026 JZ2 is an asteroid in the Aten orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.81 AU to 1.17 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 359.6 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 28 July 2026.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.034 AU
True anomaly
245.64°
Distance from Earth
0.611 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.

Sun Earth — 0.992 AU from the Sun Earth 2026 JZ2 — 1.034 AU from the Sun 2026 JZ2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2026 JZ2 is 0.611 AU from Earth today (5.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
20h 02m 00s
Declination
-27° 20′ 06″
Constellation
Sagittarius
Distance from Earth
0.61 AU
Elongation from the Sun
76.07° — 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.

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
0.99 AU
Eccentricity
0.1786
Inclination
5.14°
Orbital period
359.6 days
Perihelion
0.813 AU
Aphelion
1.166 AU
Longitude of ascending node
56.52°
Argument of periapsis
63.25°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 5.6 LD
0.0144 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.113

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).

Observations used
41
Data arc
10 days
First observed
12 May 2026
Last observed
22 May 2026
Residual RMS
0.5 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
28 July 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
28.14

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 43 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2026 JZ2 at 2027-05-21 20:41 UTC Sun 35.6 LD · 1.37 × 10⁷ km 2027-05-21 20:41 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-05-21 20:41 UTC close approach of 2026 JZ2. Catalogue miss distance 35.6 LD · 1.37 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-05-18 to 2027-05-24, 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
2027-05-21 20:41:00 Earth 0.0914 AU 35.6 LD 3.8 km/s
2028-03-02 15:08:00 Earth 0.1699 AU 66.1 LD 4.6 km/s
2028-06-22 21:01:00 Earth 0.1501 AU 58.4 LD 4.3 km/s
2029-02-01 07:57:00 Earth 0.1867 AU 72.7 LD 5.6 km/s
2029-07-20 10:54:00 Earth 0.1732 AU 67.4 LD 4.5 km/s
2030-01-06 18:00:00 Earth 0.1798 AU 70.0 LD 5.7 km/s
2030-01-07 05:23:00 Venus 0.1061 AU 41.3 LD 0.5 km/s
2030-08-19 01:37:00 Earth 0.1668 AU 64.9 LD 4 km/s
2030-12-11 03:10:00 Earth 0.1519 AU 59.1 LD 5.2 km/s
2031-11-07 17:45:00 Earth 0.0989 AU 38.5 LD 4.2 km/s

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

Sources