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Asteroid Near-Earth

2026 KB3

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(2026 KB3)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.826 AU
True anomaly
280.12°
Distance from Earth
0.292 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 KB3 — 0.826 AU from the Sun 2026 KB3
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2026 KB3 is 0.292 AU from Earth today (2.4 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
16h 10m 59s
Declination
-46° 52′ 59″
Constellation
Norma
Distance from Earth
0.29 AU
Elongation from the Sun
47.31° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
0.908 AU
Eccentricity
0.2307
Inclination
9.54°
Orbital period
315.8 days
Perihelion
0.698 AU
Aphelion
1.117 AU
Longitude of ascending node
130.6°
Argument of periapsis
325.6°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 12.5 LD
0.0322 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.534

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).

Observations used
92
Data arc
40 days
First observed
25 May 2026
Last observed
4 July 2026
Residual RMS
0.39 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
6 July 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
22.18

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 61 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2026 KB3 at 2033-08-13 14:14 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2033-08-13 14:14 UTC close approach of 2026 KB3. Catalogue miss distance 63.0 LD · 2.42 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2033-08-10 to 2033-08-16, 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 63.0 LD · 2.42 × 10⁷ km 2033-08-13 14:14 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2033-08-13 14:14 UTC close approach of 2026 KB3. Catalogue miss distance 63.0 LD · 2.42 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2033-08-10 to 2033-08-16, 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
2027-01-01 23:16:00 Venus 0.0389 AU 15.2 LD 8.6 km/s
2033-08-13 14:14:00 Earth 0.1619 AU 63.0 LD 11.2 km/s
2039-07-05 19:31:00 Earth 0.1435 AU 55.9 LD 6.1 km/s
2046-01-04 20:16:00 Venus 0.0893 AU 34.8 LD 5.7 km/s
2050-05-21 16:40:00 Venus 0.071 AU 27.6 LD 10.1 km/s
2052-07-21 09:16:00 Earth 0.1111 AU 43.2 LD 6.1 km/s
2064-12-20 23:07:00 Venus 0.1276 AU 49.7 LD 9.3 km/s
2065-07-25 02:04:00 Earth 0.1015 AU 39.5 LD 6.1 km/s
2069-06-11 11:33:00 Venus 0.0272 AU 10.6 LD 7.2 km/s
2078-07-28 22:58:00 Earth 0.0909 AU 35.4 LD 6.2 km/s

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

Sources