Asteroid 99942 Apophis
Asteroid 99942 Apophis Sky Charts and Coordinates
This is a simplified sky chart, showing where Asteroid 99942 Apophis is now with respect to the brightest stars and constellations.
More advanced sky charts are available on TheSkyLive for this object: 1) the Online Planetarium which is interactive and allows to select dates and additional objects to visualize; and 2) the Live Position and Data Tracker which provides the highest precision position data and features deep sky imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey.
High Precision Live Sky Chart
Asteroid 99942 Apophis Rise and Set Times
Today's Asteroid 99942 Apophis rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom [change]. All times are relative to the Europe/London timezone.
Asteroid 99942 Apophis Orbit Diagram
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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 Dec 08 | 19h 31m 50s | -20° 25’ 45” | 21.28 | Sagittarius |
| 2018 Dec 09 | 19h 37m 17s | -20° 15’ 33” | 21.28 | Sagittarius |
| 2018 Dec 10 | 19h 42m 42s | -20° 04’ 42” | 21.28 | Sagittarius |
| 2018 Dec 11 | 19h 48m 08s | -19° 53’ 17” | 21.28 | Sagittarius |
| 2018 Dec 12 | 19h 53m 34s | -19° 41’ 16” | 21.28 | Sagittarius |
| 2018 Dec 13 | 19h 58m 59s | -19° 28’ 38” | 21.29 | Sagittarius |
| 2018 Dec 14 | 20h 04m 23s | -19° 15’ 27” | 21.29 | Sagittarius |
| 2018 Dec 15 | 20h 09m 47s | -19° 01’ 41” | 21.29 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 16 | 20h 15m 11s | -18° 47’ 20” | 21.30 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 17 | 20h 20m 35s | -18° 32’ 26” | 21.30 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 18 | 20h 25m 57s | -18° 16’ 59” | 21.30 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 19 | 20h 31m 18s | -18° 01’ 00” | 21.30 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 20 | 20h 36m 39s | -17° 44’ 27” | 21.31 | Capricornus |
| 2018 Dec 21 | 20h 41m 59s | -17° 27’ 25” | 21.31 | Capricornus |
Distance of Asteroid 99942 Apophis from Earth
The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 99942 Apophis from Earth as a function of time. Distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with a 2 days interval.
The reported distances might be inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of 99942 Apophis is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.
Light Curve of Asteroid 99942 Apophis
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 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 Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 99942 Apophis at epoch 23 September 2008 00:00 UTC (JD: 2454733.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.19119530 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 3.33136952° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 0.74607243 AU 111,610,847 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
1.09880417 AU 164,378,765 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
0.92243830 AU 137,994,806 km |
| Orbital period | period |
0.8900 years 323.5969 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | 2009-Mar-04 09:54:01 2,454,894.9125 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | 2010-Jan-22 00:13 2,455,218.5095 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 126.40187952485° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 204.44602891898° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 180.42937304564° |
| Mean motion | n | 1.11249504°/day |
| Closest approach to Earth* | 2029-Apr-14 | |
| Distance of closest approach* | 0.00043719 AU 65,403 km |
|
* NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed for the time interval between 2013-Jan-01 and 2075-Dec-31, with a sampling interval of 1 day.