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Asteroid Near-Earth

678861

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678861 (2017 YH)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.343 AU
True anomaly
330.51°
Distance from Earth
1.233 AU
As of
15 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.

Sun Earth — 0.997 AU from the Sun Earth 678861 — 0.343 AU from the Sun 678861
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 678861 is 1.233 AU from Earth today (10.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 19m 37s
Declination
-09° 03′ 44″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.22 AU
Elongation from the Sun
13.42° — too close to the Sun to observe

Visible from both hemispheres.

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.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

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
0.635 AU
Eccentricity
0.4822
Inclination
19.85°
Orbital period
184.6 days
Perihelion
0.329 AU
Aphelion
0.941 AU
Longitude of ascending node
134.14°
Argument of periapsis
147.53°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · IEO
Atira (interior-Earth object)
Earth MOID · 45.1 LD
0.1159 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
8.775

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
296
Data arc
9.2 years
First observed
5 December 2016
Last observed
16 February 2026
Residual RMS
0.48 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
17 February 2026

Physical properties

Rotation period
3.89 hours

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
18.14

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Space Surveillance Telescope
Discovery date
5 December 2016
Discovery site
Space Surveillance

Also known as 2017 YH · 2016 XJ24

Atira Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 186 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2031-05-18 02:08:00 Mercury 0.0608 AU 23.7 LD 27.7 km/s
2031-05-18 02:08:00 Merc 0.0608 AU 23.7 LD 27.7 km/s
2033-10-09 15:00:00 Venus 0.0952 AU 37.1 LD 23.4 km/s
2036-06-06 17:14:00 Mercury 0.0728 AU 28.3 LD 26.9 km/s
2036-06-06 17:14:00 Merc 0.0728 AU 28.3 LD 26.9 km/s
2039-04-25 06:56:00 Venus 0.0783 AU 30.5 LD 16.5 km/s
2041-06-27 11:24:00 Mercury 0.0814 AU 31.7 LD 26.4 km/s
2041-06-27 11:24:00 Merc 0.0814 AU 31.7 LD 26.4 km/s
2046-07-18 11:14:00 Mercury 0.0862 AU 33.5 LD 26.1 km/s
2046-07-18 11:14:00 Merc 0.0862 AU 33.5 LD 26.1 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources