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public  Greenwich, UK Greenwich, UK  ⓘ
TimezoneEurope/London
Sunrise: 4:44 
Transit: 12:59 
Sunset: 21:15
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Dwarf Planets and Asteroids » 

Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3)

Below the horizon.  Rise: 20:31 | Tran: 0:44 | Set: 5:03
Alt: -56.58°   Az: 21.37°   Direction: North-North-East

Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) is in the constellation of Ophiuchus, at a distance of 56,767,907.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 17h 12m 00s and the Declination is -19° 28’ 57” (apparent coordinates). The magnitude of Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) is 18.33.

Finder Charts

Map showing Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) in Ophiuchus on June, 12 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) in Ophiuchus on June, 12 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3)
RA: 17h 10m 30s
Dec: -19° 27’ 10”
Deep sky finder chart for Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3). Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

17h 12m 00s
-19° 28’ 57”
12h 49m 09s
06h 01m 10s

J2000

17h 10m 30s
-19° 27’ 10”

Additional Information

Ophiuchus
18.33

Rise and Set Times

Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 109.4°
Max altitude: 19.1°
Azimuth: 250.4°
  • 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) is below the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Given its current magnitude, 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) is visible only through long exposure photography.
  • Go to interactive sky chart

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Distance from Earth

The distance of Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) from Earth is currently 56,767,907.0 kilometers, equivalent to 0.3794700201 Astronomical Units. Light takes 3m 9.357s to travel from Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) and arrive to us.

56,767,907.0
0.3794700201
3m 9.357s

The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) 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 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) 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 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2013 and 30 December 2100, the closest approach of Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) to Earth happens on Sun Dec 6 2076 at a distance of 0.010460 Astronomical Units, or 1,564,794 kilometers:

Sun Dec 6 2076
1,564,794
0.010460

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 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3), 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 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) at epoch 24 February 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.19108984
Orbit inclination i 5.86617919°
Perihelion distance q 0.96337310 AU
144,118,565 km
Aphelion distance Q 1.41853074 AU
212,209,178 km
Semi-major axis a 1.19095192 AU
178,163,872 km
Orbital period period 1.2997 years
474.7225 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2023-Aug-12 07:52:53
2,460,168.8284 JD
Next perihelion transit 2024-Nov-29 01:13
2,460,643.5508 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 211.60686871766°
Longitude of the ascending node node 251.30134002236°
Mean anomaly M 232.35020871517°
Mean motion n 0.75833784°/day
2h1>Orbit Visualization
Orbit Diagram of Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3)
View Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) 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 Jun 05 17h 29m 56s -21° 17’ 03” 18.43 Ophiuchus
2025 Jun 06 17h 27m 31s -21° 02’ 42” 18.38 Ophiuchus
2025 Jun 07 17h 25m 07s -20° 48’ 19” 18.34 Ophiuchus
2025 Jun 08 17h 22m 42s -20° 33’ 54” 18.29 Ophiuchus
2025 Jun 09 17h 20m 18s -20° 19’ 29” 18.25 Ophiuchus
2025 Jun 10 17h 17m 55s -20° 05’ 04” 18.23 Ophiuchus
2025 Jun 11 17h 15m 33s -19° 50’ 44” 18.25 Ophiuchus
2025 Jun 12 17h 13m 13s -19° 36’ 26” 18.30 Ophiuchus
2025 Jun 13 17h 10m 55s -19° 22’ 14” 18.36 Ophiuchus
2025 Jun 14 17h 08m 37s -19° 08’ 09” 18.42 Ophiuchus
2025 Jun 15 17h 06m 23s -18° 54’ 13” 18.48 Ophiuchus
2025 Jun 16 17h 04m 11s -18° 40’ 25” 18.55 Ophiuchus
2025 Jun 17 17h 02m 01s -18° 26’ 50” 18.61 Ophiuchus
2025 Jun 18 16h 59m 55s -18° 13’ 27” 18.67 Ophiuchus

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