2026 UQ is an asteroid in the Aten orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.59 AU to 1.01 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 261 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 23 October 2026.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 1.004 AU
- True anomaly
- 192.62°
- Distance from Earth
- 0.043 AU
- As of
- 27 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.
In the sky
- Right ascension
- 20h 54m 51s
- Declination
- +02° 32′ 20″
- Constellation
- Delphinus
- Distance from Earth
- 0.04 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 101.65° — 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.
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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
- 0.799 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.2666
- Inclination
- 6.09°
- Orbital period
- 261 days
- Perihelion
- 0.586 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.012 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 24.63°
- Argument of periapsis
- 174.86°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · ATE
- Aten
- Earth MOID · 5.4 LD
- 0.0138 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 7.261
Orbit quality
Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).
- Observations used
- 49
- Data arc
- 3 days
- First observed
- 19 October 2026
- Last observed
- 22 October 2026
- Residual RMS
- 0.36 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 23 October 2026
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 27.73
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 24 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2041-09-21 23:11 UTC close approach of 2026 UQ. Catalogue miss distance 33.7 LD · 1.3 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2041-09-18 to 2041-09-24, 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.
| When (UTC) | Body | Distance | Lunar distances | Relative speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-19 21:57:00 | Earth | 0.0143 AU | 5.6 LD | 5.4 km/s |
| 2026-10-19 22:26:00 | Earth | 0.0143 AU | 5.6 LD | 5.5 km/s |
| 2027-04-01 03:47:00 | Venus | 0.0562 AU | 21.9 LD | 8.8 km/s |
| 2027-04-01 10:20:00 | Venus | 0.0552 AU | 21.5 LD | 9.2 km/s |
| 2041-09-21 23:11:00 | Earth | 0.0866 AU | 33.7 LD | 7.5 km/s |
| 2046-09-20 07:18:00 | Earth | 0.182 AU | 70.8 LD | 10.8 km/s |
| 2064-11-06 06:38:00 | Earth | 0.0792 AU | 30.8 LD | 7.5 km/s |
| 2069-10-18 08:30:00 | Earth | 0.0154 AU | 6.0 LD | 5.4 km/s |
| 2070-01-16 00:30:00 | Venus | 0.0636 AU | 24.8 LD | 7.5 km/s |
| 2074-09-22 08:48:00 | Earth | 0.074 AU | 28.8 LD | 7.1 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