2006 SU217 is an asteroid in the Aten orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.81 AU to 1.16 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 357.2 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 14 April 2021.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 0.887 AU
- True anomaly
- 296.22°
- Distance from Earth
- 1.691 AU
- As of
- 2 November 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
- 13h 00m 22s
- Declination
- -07° 03′ 42″
- Constellation
- Virgo
- Distance from Earth
- 1.69 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 24.29° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn
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.
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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
- 0.985 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.174
- Inclination
- 2.64°
- Orbital period
- 357.2 days
- Perihelion
- 0.814 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.157 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 193.65°
- Argument of periapsis
- 38.57°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · ATE
- Aten
- Earth MOID · 9.8 LD
- 0.0252 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 6.138
Orbit quality
Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).
- Observations used
- 35
- Data arc
- 15 days
- First observed
- 30 September 2006
- Last observed
- 15 October 2006
- Residual RMS
- 0.87 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 14 April 2021
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 25.3
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 82 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2047-09-19 04:02 UTC close approach of 2006 SU217. Catalogue miss distance 161.4 LD · 6.21 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2047-09-16 to 2047-09-22, 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. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2035-10-08 19:10:00 | Venus | 0.0896 AU | 34.9 LD | 3.3 km/s |
| 2047-09-19 04:02:00 | Earth | 0.4148 AU | 161.4 LD | 18 km/s |
| 2048-09-13 00:04:00 | Earth | 0.281 AU | 109.3 LD | 13.9 km/s |
| 2049-09-08 03:12:00 | Earth | 0.1475 AU | 57.4 LD | 9.9 km/s |
| 2050-09-04 14:51:00 | Earth | 0.0282 AU | 11.0 LD | 6 km/s |
| 2052-05-01 18:58:00 | Venus | 0.1441 AU | 56.1 LD | 3 km/s |
| 2052-10-26 11:21:00 | Earth | 0.1592 AU | 62.0 LD | 4.8 km/s |
| 2053-05-26 15:41:00 | Earth | 0.1978 AU | 77.0 LD | 6.3 km/s |
| 2053-11-22 03:05:00 | Earth | 0.1726 AU | 67.2 LD | 5 km/s |
| 2056-02-06 08:36:00 | Earth | 0.0735 AU | 28.6 LD | 3.7 km/s |
Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.
Sources
- visual properties: JPL SBDB (lookup)
- orbital elements: JPL SBDB