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public  Greenwich, UK Greenwich, UK  ⓘ
TimezoneEurope/London
Sunrise: 7:18 
Transit: 12:14 
Sunset: 17:11
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Dwarf Planets and Asteroids » 

Asteroid 2016 WF9

Above the horizon.  Rise: 6:46 | Tran: 11:08 | Set: 15:31
Alt: 4.58°   Az: 126.76°   Direction: South-East

Asteroid 2016 WF9 is in the constellation of Capricornus, at a distance of 796,917,416.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 20h 43m 33s and the Declination is -17° 59’ 59” (apparent coordinates). The magnitude of Asteroid 2016 WF9 is 27.27 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Asteroid 2016 WF9 in Capricornus on February, 13 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Asteroid 2016 WF9 in Capricornus on February, 13 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Asteroid 2016 WF9 is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

2016 WF9
RA: 20h 42m 07s
Dec: -18° 05’ 27”
Deep sky finder chart for Asteroid 2016 WF9. Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Asteroid 2016 WF9?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Asteroid 2016 WF9 in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

20h 43m 33s
-17° 59’ 59”
20h 11m 33s
16h 55m 07s

J2000

20h 42m 07s
-18° 05’ 27”

Additional Information

Capricornus
27.27

Rise and Set Times

Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 2016 WF9 from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 108.0°
Max altitude: 20.5°
Azimuth: 252.0°
  • 2016 WF9 is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Right now it is placed in the South-East direction at an altitude of 4.58° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 2016 WF9 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.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Asteroid 2016 WF9 from Earth is currently 796,917,416.0 kilometers, equivalent to 5.3270638965 Astronomical Units. Light takes 44m 18.230s to travel from Asteroid 2016 WF9 and arrive to us.

796,917,416.0
5.3270638965
44m 18.230s

The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 2016 WF9 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 2016 WF9 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 2016 WF9 from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Asteroid 2016 WF9 to Earth happens on Sun Dec 31 2045 at a distance of 0.139344 Astronomical Units, or 20,845,601 kilometers:

Sun Dec 31 2045
20,845,601
0.139344

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

Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Asteroid 2016 WF9, 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 2016 WF9 as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 2016 WF9 at epoch 16 October 2024 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460600.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.66484134
Orbit inclination i 15.17758252°
Perihelion distance q 0.95518152 AU
142,893,122 km
Aphelion distance Q 4.74469515 AU
709,796,293 km
Semi-major axis a 2.84993834 AU
426,344,708 km
Orbital period period 4.8113 years
1,757.3231 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2026-Oct-02 00:59:11
2,461,315.5411 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 342.89250683482°
Longitude of the ascending node node 125.15859497613°
Mean anomaly M 213.51880183399°
Mean motion n 0.20485703°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Asteroid 2016 WF9
View Asteroid 2016 WF9 in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Asteroid 2016 WF9 computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2025 Feb 06 20h 36m 28s -18° 20’ 24” 27.22 Capricornus
2025 Feb 07 20h 37m 26s -18° 17’ 40” 27.22 Capricornus
2025 Feb 08 20h 38m 25s -18° 14’ 53” 27.23 Capricornus
2025 Feb 09 20h 39m 23s -18° 12’ 07” 27.24 Capricornus
2025 Feb 10 20h 40m 21s -18° 09’ 19” 27.25 Capricornus
2025 Feb 11 20h 41m 19s -18° 06’ 30” 27.25 Capricornus
2025 Feb 12 20h 42m 17s -18° 03’ 42” 27.26 Capricornus
2025 Feb 13 20h 43m 15s -18° 00’ 51” 27.27 Capricornus
2025 Feb 14 20h 44m 13s -17° 58’ 00” 27.27 Capricornus
2025 Feb 15 20h 45m 10s -17° 55’ 09” 27.28 Capricornus
2025 Feb 16 20h 46m 08s -17° 52’ 17” 27.28 Capricornus
2025 Feb 17 20h 47m 05s -17° 49’ 25” 27.29 Capricornus
2025 Feb 18 20h 48m 03s -17° 46’ 31” 27.29 Capricornus
2025 Feb 19 20h 49m 00s -17° 43’ 38” 27.30 Capricornus

Additional Resources