2026 UL1 is an asteroid in the Aten orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.8 AU to 1.07 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 330.9 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 30 October 2026.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 1.019 AU
- True anomaly
- 133.5°
- Distance from Earth
- 0.04 AU
- As of
- 31 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
- 23h 27m 16s
- Declination
- -06° 16′ 54″
- Constellation
- Aquarius
- Distance from Earth
- 0.04 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 130.68° — 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
- 0.936 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.1468
- Inclination
- 0.21°
- Orbital period
- 330.9 days
- Perihelion
- 0.799 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.074 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 68.2°
- Argument of periapsis
- 194.89°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · ATE
- Aten
- Earth MOID · 0.9 LD
- 0.0024 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 6.397
Orbit quality
Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).
- Observations used
- 65
- Data arc
- 7 days
- First observed
- 22 October 2026
- Last observed
- 29 October 2026
- Residual RMS
- 0.33 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 30 October 2026
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 27.29
Discovery & classification
Listed by JPL impact monitoring; see the Sentry table for current probabilities.
Close approaches 34 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2034-10-23 02:36 UTC close approach of 2026 UL1. Catalogue miss distance 9.72 LD · 3.74 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2034-10-20 to 2034-10-26, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-19 22:52:00 | Earth | 0.0031 AU | 1.2 LD | 4.6 km/s |
| 2026-10-19 22:53:00 | Earth | 0.0031 AU | 1.2 LD | 4.6 km/s |
| 2026-10-20 23:06:00 | Moon | 0.0045 AU | 1.8 LD | 4 km/s |
| 2032-09-25 08:34:00 | Venus | 0.0615 AU | 23.9 LD | 2.2 km/s |
| 2032-09-25 08:46:00 | Venus | 0.0615 AU | 23.9 LD | 2.2 km/s |
| 2034-10-23 02:36:00 | Earth | 0.025 AU | 9.7 LD | 3.8 km/s |
| 2034-10-23 03:03:00 | Earth | 0.0251 AU | 9.8 LD | 3.8 km/s |
| 2040-10-15 17:19:00 | Venus | 0.1168 AU | 45.4 LD | 1.8 km/s |
| 2040-10-15 19:45:00 | Venus | 0.117 AU | 45.5 LD | 1.8 km/s |
| 2042-08-16 19:28:00 | Earth | 0.1751 AU | 68.1 LD | 4.2 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