2017 DF38 is an asteroid in the Apollo orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.96 AU to 1.06 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 371.7 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 1.007 AU
- True anomaly
- 272.43°
- Distance from Earth
- 1.102 AU
- As of
- 3 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
- 18h 37m 56s
- Declination
- -22° 15′ 47″
- Constellation
- Sagittarius
- Distance from Earth
- 1.1 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 57.2° — 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
- 1.012 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.0468
- Inclination
- 16.51°
- Orbital period
- 371.7 days
- Perihelion
- 0.964 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.059 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 157.92°
- Argument of periapsis
- 263.91°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · APO
- Apollo
- Earth MOID · 2.1 LD
- 0.0054 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 5.988
Orbit quality
Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).
- Observations used
- 49
- Data arc
- 6 days
- First observed
- 25 February 2017
- Last observed
- 3 March 2017
- Residual RMS
- 0.49 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 15 April 2021
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 26
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 42 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2070-08-11 20:32 UTC close approach of 2017 DF38. Catalogue miss distance 173.2 LD · 6.66 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2070-08-08 to 2070-08-14, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2070-08-11 20:32:00 | Earth | 0.4451 AU | 173.2 LD | 16.5 km/s |
| 2071-08-16 21:39:00 | Earth | 0.3411 AU | 132.8 LD | 13.9 km/s |
| 2072-03-08 07:47:00 | Earth | 0.4147 AU | 161.4 LD | 13.5 km/s |
| 2072-08-20 22:30:00 | Earth | 0.2375 AU | 92.4 LD | 11.7 km/s |
| 2073-03-03 05:59:00 | Earth | 0.316 AU | 123.0 LD | 11.7 km/s |
| 2073-08-25 15:59:00 | Earth | 0.1356 AU | 52.8 LD | 9.9 km/s |
| 2074-02-28 09:36:00 | Earth | 0.2187 AU | 85.1 LD | 10.1 km/s |
| 2074-08-30 01:44:00 | Earth | 0.0381 AU | 14.8 LD | 8.8 km/s |
| 2075-02-26 20:03:00 | Earth | 0.1281 AU | 49.9 LD | 9 km/s |
| 2075-09-02 18:38:00 | Earth | 0.0474 AU | 18.4 LD | 8.5 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