Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 0.929 AU
- True anomaly
- 141.89°
- Distance from Earth
- 1.267 AU
- As of
- 17 October 2026
Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.
In the sky
- Right ascension
- 16h 44m 17s
- Declination
- -16° 00′ 15″
- Constellation
- Ophiuchus
- Distance from Earth
- 1.28 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 46.8° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn
Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.
From your location
See how high it is right now, whether it is up after civil twilight, and when it rises and sets where you are.
Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.
Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.
Orbital elements
- Semi-major axis
- 0.817 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.6991
- Inclination
- 12.75°
- Orbital period
- 269.8 days
- Perihelion
- 0.246 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.388 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 164.16°
- Argument of periapsis
- 355.42°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · ATE
- Aten
- Earth MOID · 41.2 LD
- 0.1058 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 6.921
Orbit quality
Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).
- Observations used
- 666
- Data arc
- 23.16 years
- First observed
- 16 August 2002
- Last observed
- 13 October 2025
- Residual RMS
- 0.51 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 19 August 2026
Physical properties
- Mean radius
- 0.13 km
Visual & observation
- Geometric albedo
- 0.357
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 19.59
Discovery & classification
- Discovered by
- LINEAR
- Discovery date
- 16 August 2002
- Discovery site
- Socorro
Also known as 2002 QY6
Close approaches 130 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-08-02 00:07 UTC close approach of 247517. Catalogue miss distance 70.2 LD · 2.7 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-07-30 to 2027-08-05, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. At closest approach the object is north of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.
| When (UTC) | Body | Distance | Lunar distances | Relative speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2027-08-02 00:07:00 | Earth | 0.1805 AU | 70.2 LD | 17.6 km/s |
| 2028-01-18 17:58:00 | Venus | 0.1293 AU | 50.3 LD | 23 km/s |
| 2028-09-30 19:30:00 | Earth | 0.1865 AU | 72.6 LD | 25.3 km/s |
| 2030-01-12 16:26:00 | Mars | 0.0375 AU | 14.6 LD | 13.7 km/s |
| 2031-09-28 03:36:00 | Venus | 0.1386 AU | 54.0 LD | 22.5 km/s |
| 2035-06-07 12:45:00 | Venus | 0.1493 AU | 58.1 LD | 21.9 km/s |
| 2036-12-29 03:39:00 | Merc | 0.0965 AU | 37.5 LD | 28.9 km/s |
| 2036-12-29 03:39:00 | Mercury | 0.0965 AU | 37.5 LD | 28.9 km/s |
| 2041-08-01 23:59:00 | Earth | 0.1441 AU | 56.1 LD | 22.1 km/s |
| 2042-10-05 12:52:00 | Earth | 0.1109 AU | 43.2 LD | 19.7 km/s |
Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.
Sources
- visual properties: JPL SBDB (lookup)
- physical properties: JPL SBDB (lookup)
- visual properties: JPL SBDB (lookup)
- orbital elements: JPL SBDB