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A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 7:50  
clear_day Transit: 11:50  
SunsetSet: 15:49 south
sunny DaytimeWhat's Visible Now?
Dwarf Planets and Asteroids » 

Asteroid 99942 Apophis

Altitude: 21.2°   Azimuth: 165.4°   Direction: South-South-East

Asteroid 99942 Apophis is currently in the constellation of Libra.

The current Right Ascension of Asteroid 99942 Apophis is 14h 43m 29s and the Declination is -16° 14’ 22” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current magnitude of Asteroid 99942 Apophis is 21.53 (JPL).

14h 43m 29s
-16° 14’ 22”
Libra
21.53

Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 99942 Apophis from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 106.2°
Max altitude: 22.3°
Azimuth: 253.7°
  • 99942 Apophis is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Right now it is placed in the South-South-East direction at an altitude of 21° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, 99942 Apophis 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 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.

Finder chart of 99942 Apophis in Libra on December,08 2023
Map showing Asteroid 99942 Apophis in Libra on December, 08 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of 99942 Apophis
Map showing Asteroid 99942 Apophis in Libra on December, 08 2023
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

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.

99942 Apophis
RA: 14h 43m 29s
Dec: -16° 14’ 22”
Deep sky finder chart for Asteroid 99942 Apophis
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

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 258,185,853 kilometers, equivalent to 1.725866 Astronomical Units. Light takes 14 minutes and 21.2153 seconds to travel from Asteroid 99942 Apophis and arrive to us.

258,185,853
1.725866
14 minutes and 21.2153 seconds

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.

Chart of the distance of Asteroid 99942 Apophis 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 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:

Sat Apr 14 2029
65,520
0.000438

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.

Chart of the magnitude of Asteroid 99942 Apophis as a function of time

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!

Orbit Diagram of Asteroid 99942 Apophis
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 Dec 01 14h 15m 19s -14° 11’ 54” 21.57 Virgo
2023 Dec 02 14h 19m 04s -14° 29’ 08” 21.56 Virgo
2023 Dec 03 14h 22m 50s -14° 46’ 10” 21.56 Libra
2023 Dec 04 14h 26m 39s -15° 03’ 02” 21.55 Libra
2023 Dec 05 14h 30m 29s -15° 19’ 42” 21.55 Libra
2023 Dec 06 14h 34m 19s -15° 36’ 11” 21.54 Libra
2023 Dec 07 14h 38m 12s -15° 52’ 28” 21.53 Libra
2023 Dec 08 14h 42m 05s -16° 08’ 34” 21.53 Libra
2023 Dec 09 14h 46m 00s -16° 24’ 25” 21.52 Libra
2023 Dec 10 14h 49m 56s -16° 40’ 05” 21.52 Libra
2023 Dec 11 14h 53m 53s -16° 55’ 28” 21.51 Libra
2023 Dec 12 14h 57m 53s -17° 10’ 40” 21.50 Libra
2023 Dec 13 15h 01m 54s -17° 25’ 36” 21.49 Libra
2023 Dec 14 15h 05m 57s -17° 40’ 15” 21.49 Libra