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Asteroid Near-Earth

2017 FL128

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(2017 FL128)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.153 AU
True anomaly
155.7°
Distance from Earth
2.129 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 FL128 — 1.153 AU from the Sun 2017 FL128
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2017 FL128 is 2.129 AU from Earth today (17.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 13m 42s
Declination
-08° 34′ 49″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
2.13 AU
Elongation from the Sun
8.37° — 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
0.911 AU
Eccentricity
0.3173
Inclination
17.9°
Orbital period
317.6 days
Perihelion
0.622 AU
Aphelion
1.2 AU
Longitude of ascending node
8.94°
Argument of periapsis
28.46°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 41.8 LD
0.1074 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.467

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
44
Data arc
54 days
First observed
29 March 2017
Last observed
22 May 2017
Residual RMS
0.69 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
22.21

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 190 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2017 FL128 at 2030-03-15 11:54 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-03-15 11:54 UTC close approach of 2017 FL128. Catalogue miss distance 44.4 LD · 1.71 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-03-12 to 2030-03-18, 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. Sun 44.4 LD · 1.71 × 10⁷ km 2030-03-15 11:54 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-03-15 11:54 UTC close approach of 2017 FL128. Catalogue miss distance 44.4 LD · 1.71 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-03-12 to 2030-03-18, 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.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2030-03-15 11:54:00 Earth 0.114 AU 44.4 LD 12.3 km/s
2030-10-21 21:15:00 Earth 0.38 AU 147.9 LD 16.9 km/s
2031-06-22 19:53:00 Earth 0.3144 AU 122.4 LD 10.1 km/s
2035-12-27 19:01:00 Venus 0.0789 AU 30.7 LD 13.4 km/s
2037-04-01 04:04:00 Earth 0.1798 AU 70.0 LD 10.6 km/s
2037-09-22 14:45:00 Earth 0.3494 AU 136.0 LD 16 km/s
2038-06-12 15:06:00 Earth 0.4231 AU 164.6 LD 17.6 km/s
2043-03-17 04:00:00 Earth 0.3134 AU 122.0 LD 18.9 km/s
2043-11-24 04:45:00 Earth 0.4027 AU 156.7 LD 14.9 km/s
2044-04-27 04:37:00 Earth 0.2725 AU 106.1 LD 10.4 km/s

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

Sources