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Asteroid Near-Earth

2026 TF4

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(2026 TF4)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.015 AU
True anomaly
296.22°
Distance from Earth
0.02 AU
As of
11 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 — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth 2026 TF4 — 1.015 AU from the Sun 2026 TF4
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2026 TF4 is 0.02 AU from Earth today (10.0 light-seconds).

In the sky

Right ascension
00h 25m 40s
Declination
-24° 54′ 33″
Constellation
Sculptor
Distance from Earth
0.02 AU
Elongation from the Sun
146.05° — 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
1.143 AU
Eccentricity
0.1916
Inclination
1.53°
Orbital period
446.3 days
Perihelion
0.924 AU
Aphelion
1.362 AU
Longitude of ascending node
180.7°
Argument of periapsis
261.11°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · APO
Apollo
Earth MOID · 4.2 LD
0.0107 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
5.472

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
22
Data arc
4 days
First observed
4 October 2026
Last observed
8 October 2026
Residual RMS
0.55 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
9 October 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
27.44

Discovery & classification

Apollo Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 4 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2026 TF4 at 2026-10-15 10:02 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-10-15 10:02 UTC close approach of 2026 TF4. Catalogue miss distance 7.07 LD · 2.72 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-10-12 to 2026-10-18, 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 13 Oct 18 Oct 7.07 LD · 2.72 × 10⁶ km 2026-10-15 10:02 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-10-15 10:02 UTC close approach of 2026 TF4. Catalogue miss distance 7.07 LD · 2.72 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-10-12 to 2026-10-18, 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
2026-10-15 10:02:00 Earth 0.0182 AU 7.1 LD 4.9 km/s
2026-10-15 10:03:00 Earth 0.0181 AU 7.0 LD 4.9 km/s
2033-02-21 01:15:00 Earth 0.169 AU 65.8 LD 9.5 km/s
2050-02-14 03:52:00 Earth 0.0581 AU 22.6 LD 6.1 km/s

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

Sources