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Asteroid Near-Earth

2026 PW8

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(2026 PW8)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.056 AU
True anomaly
198.49°
Distance from Earth
0.296 AU
As of
19 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 — 0.996 AU from the Sun Earth 2026 PW8 — 1.056 AU from the Sun 2026 PW8
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2026 PW8 is 0.296 AU from Earth today (2.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
20h 35m 59s
Declination
-42° 12′ 32″
Constellation
Microscopium
Distance from Earth
0.3 AU
Elongation from the Sun
93.47° — 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
0.837 AU
Eccentricity
0.2885
Inclination
8.33°
Orbital period
279.8 days
Perihelion
0.596 AU
Aphelion
1.079 AU
Longitude of ascending node
143.17°
Argument of periapsis
30°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 2.2 LD
0.0057 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.976

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
43
Data arc
4 days
First observed
15 August 2026
Last observed
19 August 2026
Residual RMS
0.2 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
20 August 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
28.21

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 57 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2026 PW8 at 2036-10-22 17:54 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2036-10-22 17:54 UTC close approach of 2026 PW8. Catalogue miss distance 77.2 LD · 2.97 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2036-10-19 to 2036-10-25, 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 77.2 LD · 2.97 × 10⁷ km 2036-10-22 17:54 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2036-10-22 17:54 UTC close approach of 2026 PW8. Catalogue miss distance 77.2 LD · 2.97 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2036-10-19 to 2036-10-25, 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
2030-04-06 06:04:00 Venus 0.0997 AU 38.8 LD 10.6 km/s
2033-04-03 13:49:00 Venus 0.1216 AU 47.3 LD 9.4 km/s
2036-04-03 03:17:00 Venus 0.1216 AU 47.3 LD 10 km/s
2036-10-22 17:54:00 Earth 0.1983 AU 77.2 LD 11.1 km/s
2039-03-31 07:50:00 Venus 0.089 AU 34.6 LD 9.4 km/s
2039-09-01 02:59:00 Earth 0.0865 AU 33.7 LD 6.5 km/s
2042-08-13 10:59:00 Earth 0.1859 AU 72.3 LD 13.1 km/s
2052-05-22 12:02:00 Venus 0.0996 AU 38.8 LD 8.5 km/s
2052-10-07 11:14:00 Earth 0.1279 AU 49.8 LD 6.6 km/s
2055-05-15 08:33:00 Venus 0.1271 AU 49.4 LD 10.1 km/s

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

Sources