Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3)
Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) is currently in the constellation of Aries. The current Right Ascension of Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) is 03h 13m 26s and the Declination is +20° 08’ 10” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom ). The current magnitude of Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) is 22.03 (JPL).
Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) from Greenwich, United Kingdom (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
- 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom .
- Right now it is placed in the South-South-East direction at an altitude of 58° above the horizon.
- Given its current magnitude, 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) is visible only through long exposure photography.
- Go to interactive sky chart
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Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) Position and Finder Charts
Below we provide Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) 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 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.


Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
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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.
Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) Distance from Earth
The distance of Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) from Earth is currently 292,649,021 kilometers, equivalent to 1.956238 Astronomical Units. Light takes 16 minutes and 16.1721 seconds to travel from Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) and arrive to us.
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.
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 of Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) to Earth
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:
NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) Brightness and 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.
Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) 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 |
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 |
Visualization of Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) Orbit
This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) 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 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) in the 3D Solar System Simulator
Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) 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. Click on each row of the table to locate Asteroid 162173 Ryugu (1999 JU3) in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.
Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
---|---|---|---|---|
2023 May 28 | 02h 44m 31s | +18° 25’ 38” | 22.08 | Aries |
2023 May 29 | 02h 48m 21s | +18° 40’ 20” | 22.07 | Aries |
2023 May 30 | 02h 52m 13s | +18° 54’ 47” | 22.07 | Aries |
2023 May 31 | 02h 56m 06s | +19° 08’ 57” | 22.06 | Aries |
2023 Jun 01 | 02h 59m 58s | +19° 22’ 53” | 22.05 | Aries |
2023 Jun 02 | 03h 03m 53s | +19° 36’ 30” | 22.05 | Aries |
2023 Jun 03 | 03h 07m 50s | +19° 49’ 51” | 22.04 | Aries |
2023 Jun 04 | 03h 11m 48s | +20° 02’ 56” | 22.03 | Aries |
2023 Jun 05 | 03h 15m 47s | +20° 15’ 42” | 22.02 | Aries |
2023 Jun 06 | 03h 19m 46s | +20° 28’ 09” | 22.02 | Aries |
2023 Jun 07 | 03h 23m 48s | +20° 40’ 18” | 22.01 | Aries |
2023 Jun 08 | 03h 27m 50s | +20° 52’ 08” | 22.00 | Aries |
2023 Jun 09 | 03h 31m 54s | +21° 03’ 37” | 21.99 | Taurus |
2023 Jun 10 | 03h 35m 57s | +21° 14’ 47” | 21.99 | Taurus |