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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:54  
clear_day Transit: 11:51  
SunsetSet: 15:49 south
wb_twilight Civil TwilightWhat's Visible Now?
Dwarf Planets and Asteroids » 

Asteroid 1999 KW4

Altitude: -16.5°   Azimuth: 245.5°   Direction: West-South-West

Asteroid 1999 KW4 is currently in the constellation of Scorpius.

The current Right Ascension of Asteroid 1999 KW4 is 16h 04m 27s and the Declination is -28° 02’ 51” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current magnitude of Asteroid 1999 KW4 is 18.07 (JPL).

16h 04m 27s
-28° 02’ 51”
Scorpius
18.07

Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 1999 KW4 from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 118.1°
Max altitude: 10.5°
Azimuth: 241.9°
  • 1999 WK4 is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Given its current magnitude, 1999 WK4 is visible only through long exposure photography.
  • Go to interactive sky chart

If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.

Available Resources

Asteroid 1999 KW4 Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Asteroid 1999 KW4 finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.

Finder chart of 1999 WK4 in Scorpius on December,11 2023
Map showing Asteroid 1999 KW4 in Scorpius on December, 11 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of 1999 WK4
Map showing Asteroid 1999 KW4 in Scorpius on December, 11 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Asteroid 1999 KW4 is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

1999 WK4
RA: 16h 04m 27s
Dec: -28° 02’ 51”
Deep sky finder chart for Asteroid 1999 KW4
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Asteroid 1999 KW4?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Asteroid 1999 KW4 in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Asteroid 1999 KW4 Distance from Earth

The distance of Asteroid 1999 KW4 from Earth is currently 242,894,765 kilometers, equivalent to 1.623651 Astronomical Units. Light takes 13 minutes and 30.2097 seconds to travel from Asteroid 1999 KW4 and arrive to us.

242,894,765
1.623651
13 minutes and 30.2097 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 1999 KW4 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.

Chart of the distance of Asteroid 1999 KW4 from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

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 1999 WK4 from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Asteroid 1999 KW4 to Earth

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Asteroid 1999 KW4 to Earth happens on Mon May 26 2036 at a distance of 0.016364 Astronomical Units, or 2,447,983 kilometers:

Mon May 26 2036
2,447,983
0.016364

NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Asteroid 1999 KW4 Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Asteroid 1999 KW4, 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.

Chart of the magnitude of Asteroid 1999 KW4 as a function of time

Asteroid 1999 KW4 Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 1999 KW4 at epoch 24 February 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.68837395
Orbit inclination i 38.87980953°
Perihelion distance q 0.20018255 AU
29,946,883 km
Aphelion distance Q 1.08457881 AU
162,250,681 km
Semi-major axis a 0.64238068 AU
96,098,782 km
Orbital period period 0.5149 years
188.0560 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2023-May-04 19:05:31
2,460,069.2955 JD
Next perihelion transit 2023-Nov-08 20:26
2,460,257.3515 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 192.6446892906°
Longitude of the ascending node node 244.89873428647°
Mean anomaly M 228.30314652591°
Mean motion n 1.91432366°/day

Visualization of Asteroid 1999 KW4 Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Asteroid 1999 KW4 with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Asteroid 1999 KW4 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!

Orbit Diagram of Asteroid 1999 KW4
View Asteroid 1999 KW4 in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Asteroid 1999 KW4 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Asteroid 1999 KW4 computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Asteroid 1999 KW4 in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2023 Dec 04 15h 35m 06s -28° 11’ 47” 17.67 Libra
2023 Dec 05 15h 39m 05s -28° 12’ 20” 17.73 Libra
2023 Dec 06 15h 43m 00s -28° 12’ 19” 17.78 Libra
2023 Dec 07 15h 46m 54s -28° 11’ 44” 17.84 Libra
2023 Dec 08 15h 50m 44s -28° 10’ 40” 17.89 Scorpius
2023 Dec 09 15h 54m 32s -28° 09’ 06” 17.94 Scorpius
2023 Dec 10 15h 58m 17s -28° 07’ 05” 17.99 Scorpius
2023 Dec 11 16h 01m 59s -28° 04’ 39” 18.04 Scorpius
2023 Dec 12 16h 05m 39s -28° 01’ 49” 18.09 Scorpius
2023 Dec 13 16h 09m 18s -27° 58’ 36” 18.13 Scorpius
2023 Dec 14 16h 12m 53s -27° 55’ 00” 18.18 Scorpius
2023 Dec 15 16h 16m 27s -27° 51’ 06” 18.22 Scorpius
2023 Dec 16 16h 19m 59s -27° 46’ 50” 18.26 Scorpius
2023 Dec 17 16h 23m 27s -27° 42’ 16” 18.30 Scorpius