2026 QH3 is an asteroid in the Aten orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.82 AU to 1.16 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 360.7 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 31 August 2026.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 0.844 AU
- True anomaly
- 326.62°
- Distance from Earth
- 0.263 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.
In the sky
- Right ascension
- 11h 10m 42s
- Declination
- -32° 42′ 05″
- Constellation
- Hydra
- Distance from Earth
- 0.27 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 49.28° — 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.
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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
- 0.992 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.1692
- Inclination
- 10.77°
- Orbital period
- 360.7 days
- Perihelion
- 0.824 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.159 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 157.18°
- Argument of periapsis
- 285.81°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · ATE
- Aten
- Earth MOID · 0.1 LD
- 0.0002 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 6.092
Orbit quality
Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).
- Observations used
- 26
- First observed
- 30 August 2026
- Last observed
- 30 August 2026
- Residual RMS
- 0.52 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 31 August 2026
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 26.96
Discovery & classification
Listed by JPL impact monitoring; see the Sentry table for current probabilities.
Close approaches 24 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-09-02 02:01 UTC close approach of 2026 QH3. Catalogue miss distance 40.9 LD · 1.57 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-08-30 to 2027-09-05, 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.
| When (UTC) | Body | Distance | Lunar distances | Relative speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2027-09-02 02:01:00 | Earth | 0.1052 AU | 40.9 LD | 5.7 km/s |
| 2031-02-13 08:55:00 | Earth | 0.1359 AU | 52.9 LD | 5.8 km/s |
| 2032-02-28 19:15:00 | Earth | 0.0391 AU | 15.2 LD | 6.8 km/s |
| 2033-03-06 22:29:00 | Earth | 0.0727 AU | 28.3 LD | 8.7 km/s |
| 2034-03-13 03:04:00 | Earth | 0.1746 AU | 68.0 LD | 11.3 km/s |
| 2083-08-22 18:45:00 | Earth | 0.1976 AU | 76.9 LD | 11.8 km/s |
| 2084-08-26 13:09:00 | Earth | 0.0935 AU | 36.4 LD | 9.2 km/s |
| 2085-08-30 09:23:00 | Moon | 0.0035 AU | 1.4 LD | 7.8 km/s |
| 2085-08-30 13:36:00 | Earth | 0.0058 AU | 2.2 LD | 7.1 km/s |
| 2089-02-28 17:28:00 | Earth | 0.0171 AU | 6.7 LD | 7.5 km/s |
Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.
Sources
- visual properties: JPL SBDB (lookup)
- orbital elements: JPL SBDB