Asteroid 99942 Apophis
Asteroid 99942 Apophis is currently in the constellation of Aries, at a distance of 279,137,866 kilometers from Earth.
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Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 99942 Apophis from Greenwich, United Kingdom (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- 99942 Apophis is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom.
- Given its current magnitude, 99942 Apophis is visible only through long exposure photography.
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Asteroid 99942 Apophis Position and Finder Charts
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
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Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Asteroid 99942 Apophis is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.
Also check out Where is Asteroid 99942 Apophis?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Asteroid 99942 Apophis in the sky and additional links to sky charts.
Asteroid 99942 Apophis Distance from Earth
The distance of Asteroid 99942 Apophis from Earth is currently 279,137,866 kilometers, equivalent to 1.865921 Astronomical Units. Light takes 15 minutes and 31.1037 seconds to travel from Asteroid 99942 Apophis and arrive to us.
The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 99942 Apophis from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.
The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of 99942 Apophis from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Closest Approach of Asteroid 99942 Apophis to Earth
Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Asteroid 99942 Apophis to Earth happens on Sat Apr 14 2029 at a distance of 0.000438 Astronomical Units, or 65,520 kilometers:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Asteroid 99942 Apophis Brightness and Light Curve
The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Asteroid 99942 Apophis, according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.
Asteroid 99942 Apophis Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 99942 Apophis at epoch 24 February 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.19141668 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 3.33927260° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 0.74609298 AU 111,613,922 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
1.09933955 AU 164,458,857 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
0.92271627 AU 138,036,389 km |
| Orbital period | period |
0.8864 years 323.7432 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2023-May-07 12:43:49 2,460,072.0304 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2024-Mar-26 06:34 2,460,395.7737 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 126.6058613939° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 203.95751533107° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 280.45870832751° |
| Mean motion | n | 1.11199237°/day |
Visualization of Asteroid 99942 Apophis Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Asteroid 99942 Apophis with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Asteroid 99942 Apophis and the planets along their orbits in this diagram accurately represents the current configuration of the objects in the Solar System. This is an experimental feature and it requires a WebGL enabled browser. Please provide us feedback!
View Asteroid 99942 Apophis in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Asteroid 99942 Apophis Physical Data
The following shows the known values of the most important physical parameters of Asteroid 99942 Apophis. Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Physical Parameter | Value | Relative to Earth |
|---|---|---|
| Diameter | 0.325 km | 0.0000 |
| Sideral Rotation | 30.4000 hours | 1.2701 |
| Absolute Magnitude | 19.7 | |
| Geometric Albedo | 0.23 |
Asteroid 99942 Apophis 15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of Asteroid 99942 Apophis computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Asteroid 99942 Apophis in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 May 10 | 02h 50m 49s | +15° 57’ 21” | 20.40 | Aries |
| 2024 May 11 | 02h 55m 22s | +16° 14’ 53” | 20.41 | Aries |
| 2024 May 12 | 02h 59m 53s | +16° 32’ 02” | 20.41 | Aries |
| 2024 May 13 | 03h 04m 23s | +16° 48’ 43” | 20.41 | Aries |
| 2024 May 14 | 03h 08m 53s | +17° 04’ 59” | 20.42 | Aries |
| 2024 May 15 | 03h 13m 23s | +17° 20’ 49” | 20.42 | Aries |
| 2024 May 16 | 03h 17m 53s | +17° 36’ 14” | 20.43 | Aries |
| 2024 May 17 | 03h 22m 23s | +17° 51’ 11” | 20.43 | Aries |
| 2024 May 18 | 03h 26m 53s | +18° 05’ 43” | 20.44 | Taurus |
| 2024 May 19 | 03h 31m 22s | +18° 19’ 47” | 20.44 | Taurus |
| 2024 May 20 | 03h 35m 51s | +18° 33’ 25” | 20.45 | Taurus |
| 2024 May 21 | 03h 40m 18s | +18° 46’ 37” | 20.46 | Taurus |
| 2024 May 22 | 03h 44m 47s | +18° 59’ 22” | 20.46 | Taurus |
| 2024 May 23 | 03h 49m 14s | +19° 11’ 42” | 20.47 | Taurus |