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Asteroid Near-Earth

2026 KQ1

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(2026 KQ1)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.94 AU
True anomaly
251.48°
Distance from Earth
0.435 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 KQ1 — 0.94 AU from the Sun 2026 KQ1
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2026 KQ1 is 0.435 AU from Earth today (3.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
18h 33m 48s
Declination
-13° 38′ 21″
Constellation
Scutum
Distance from Earth
0.43 AU
Elongation from the Sun
69.82° — 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
0.92 AU
Eccentricity
0.2244
Inclination
5.39°
Orbital period
322.1 days
Perihelion
0.713 AU
Aphelion
1.126 AU
Longitude of ascending node
238.28°
Argument of periapsis
233.03°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 0.3 LD
0.0008 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.474

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).

Observations used
40
Data arc
4 days
First observed
21 May 2026
Last observed
25 May 2026
Residual RMS
0.41 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
16 June 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
29.58

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 34 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2026 KQ1 at 2034-09-14 02:44 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2034-09-14 02:44 UTC close approach of 2026 KQ1. Catalogue miss distance 36.5 LD · 1.4 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2034-09-11 to 2034-09-17, 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 36.5 LD · 1.4 × 10⁷ km 2034-09-14 02:44 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2034-09-14 02:44 UTC close approach of 2026 KQ1. Catalogue miss distance 36.5 LD · 1.4 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2034-09-11 to 2034-09-17, 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
2028-09-16 02:45:00 Venus 0.1422 AU 55.4 LD 12.6 km/s
2034-09-14 02:44:00 Earth 0.0937 AU 36.5 LD 5.1 km/s
2034-11-20 09:00:00 Venus 0.0305 AU 11.9 LD 6.8 km/s
2041-05-21 16:29:00 Earth 0.0338 AU 13.1 LD 5.4 km/s
2049-09-11 14:04:00 Earth 0.1008 AU 39.2 LD 7.4 km/s
2061-04-25 06:05:00 Venus 0.1274 AU 49.6 LD 12.1 km/s
2063-05-20 10:42:00 Earth 0.075 AU 29.2 LD 8.3 km/s
2067-06-25 15:38:00 Venus 0.0396 AU 15.4 LD 8.3 km/s
2071-09-13 20:37:00 Earth 0.0894 AU 34.8 LD 5.5 km/s
2073-08-22 07:07:00 Venus 0.0264 AU 10.3 LD 7.1 km/s

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

Sources