Asteroid 99942 Apophis
Asteroid 99942 Apophis is currently in the constellation of Ophiucus. The current Right Ascension of Asteroid 99942 Apophis is 17h 26m 45s and the Declination is -22° 58’ 22” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]). The current magnitude of Asteroid 99942 Apophis is 21.19 (JPL).
Summary of key facts about Asteroid 99942 Apophis [tip: you can also create a Quick Access page for this data if you access it frequently and would like to have a simpler view]:
- 99942 Apophis is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change].
- It is visible looking in the South-South-East direction at an altitude of 13° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 99942 Apophis is visible only through long exposure photography.
- See also 99942 Apophis rise and set times.
- 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.
Additional information about Asteroid 99942 Apophis available on TheSkyLive:
Asteroid 99942 Apophis Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Asteroid 99942 Apophis 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.
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
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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 175,858,138 kilometers, equivalent to 1.175539 Astronomical Units. Light takes 9 minutes and 46.5996 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 January 2013 and 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
The current visual magnitude of Asteroid 99942 Apophis is 21.19.
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 rise and set times
Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London
Today's Asteroid 99942 Apophis rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change] are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
The rise and set times are defined as the time at which the upper limb of Asteroid 99942 Apophis touches the horizon, considering the effect of the atmospheric refraction. As the atmospheric conditions cannot be modeled precisely the times reported here should be considered correct with an approximation of few minutes.
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 |
Argument of perihelion | peri | 126.60586139473° |
Longitude of the ascending node | node | 203.95751533035° |
Mean anomaly | M | 280.45870832668° |
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|
2023 Jan 29 | 16h 52m 22s | -22° 36’ 51” | 21.24 | Ophiucus |
2023 Jan 30 | 16h 56m 59s | -22° 41’ 21” | 21.24 | Ophiucus |
2023 Jan 31 | 17h 01m 40s | -22° 45’ 24” | 21.23 | Ophiucus |
2023 Feb 01 | 17h 06m 21s | -22° 48’ 56” | 21.22 | Ophiucus |
2023 Feb 02 | 17h 11m 04s | -22° 51’ 56” | 21.22 | Ophiucus |
2023 Feb 03 | 17h 15m 48s | -22° 54’ 28” | 21.21 | Ophiucus |
2023 Feb 04 | 17h 20m 35s | -22° 56’ 27” | 21.20 | Ophiucus |
2023 Feb 05 | 17h 25m 22s | -22° 57’ 56” | 21.19 | Ophiucus |
2023 Feb 06 | 17h 30m 10s | -22° 58’ 50” | 21.19 | Ophiucus |
2023 Feb 07 | 17h 34m 59s | -22° 59’ 15” | 21.18 | Ophiucus |
2023 Feb 08 | 17h 39m 51s | -22° 59’ 04” | 21.17 | Ophiucus |
2023 Feb 09 | 17h 44m 43s | -22° 58’ 22” | 21.17 | Sagittarius |
2023 Feb 10 | 17h 49m 36s | -22° 57’ 05” | 21.16 | Sagittarius |
2023 Feb 11 | 17h 54m 30s | -22° 55’ 14” | 21.15 | Sagittarius |