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Asteroid Near-Earth

2017 BO6

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(2017 BO6)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.186 AU
True anomaly
169.55°
Distance from Earth
0.805 AU
As of
21 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 — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth 2017 BO6 — 1.186 AU from the Sun 2017 BO6
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2017 BO6 is 0.805 AU from Earth today (6.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
08h 36m 39s
Declination
+16° 29′ 26″
Constellation
Cancer
Distance from Earth
0.8 AU
Elongation from the Sun
82.01° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
0.936 AU
Eccentricity
0.2753
Inclination
1.86°
Orbital period
330.7 days
Perihelion
0.678 AU
Aphelion
1.194 AU
Longitude of ascending node
118.3°
Argument of periapsis
142.66°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 5.4 LD
0.0139 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.375

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).

Observations used
42
Data arc
16 days
First observed
26 January 2017
Last observed
11 February 2017
Residual RMS
0.6 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
26.1

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 66 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2017 BO6 at 2027-02-07 03:46 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-02-07 03:46 UTC close approach of 2017 BO6. Catalogue miss distance 86.3 LD · 3.32 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-02-04 to 2027-02-10, 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 approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. approximate Sun 86.3 LD · 3.32 × 10⁷ km 2027-02-07 03:46 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-02-07 03:46 UTC close approach of 2017 BO6. Catalogue miss distance 86.3 LD · 3.32 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-02-04 to 2027-02-10, 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 approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2027-02-07 03:46:00 Earth 0.2217 AU 86.3 LD 15.3 km/s
2030-12-31 22:10:00 Venus 0.0978 AU 38.0 LD 11.8 km/s
2032-09-08 17:00:00 Venus 0.0309 AU 12.0 LD 6.2 km/s
2033-10-29 23:27:00 Earth 0.4857 AU 189.0 LD 23.6 km/s
2034-10-16 00:38:00 Earth 0.0849 AU 33.0 LD 6.3 km/s
2035-06-18 16:52:00 Earth 0.3374 AU 131.3 LD 11.5 km/s
2036-01-29 02:08:00 Earth 0.1319 AU 51.3 LD 6 km/s
2037-01-29 02:16:00 Earth 0.4309 AU 167.7 LD 22 km/s
2043-10-23 00:11:00 Earth 0.3063 AU 119.2 LD 17.9 km/s
2044-08-17 18:22:00 Earth 0.2528 AU 98.4 LD 7 km/s

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

Sources