2017 LF is an asteroid in the Apollo orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.86 AU to 1.17 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 372 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 15 April 2021.
Where is it now
- Distance from Sun
- 1.168 AU
- True anomaly
- 186.75°
- Distance from Earth
- 1.368 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 30m 37s
- Declination
- -12° 57′ 13″
- Constellation
- Scutum
- Distance from Earth
- 1.37 AU
- Elongation from the Sun
- 56.63° — 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
- 1.012 AU
- Eccentricity
- 0.155
- Inclination
- 12.42°
- Orbital period
- 372 days
- Perihelion
- 0.855 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.169 AU
- Longitude of ascending node
- 247.41°
- Argument of periapsis
- 249.63°
- Epoch · J2000
- 2461200.5
- Orbit class · APO
- Apollo
- Earth MOID · 9.9 LD
- 0.0255 AU
- Tisserand (Jupiter)
- 5.992
Orbit quality
Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).
- Observations used
- 65
- Data arc
- 17 days
- First observed
- 2 June 2017
- Last observed
- 19 June 2017
- Residual RMS
- 0.45 ″
- Solution · Otto Matic
- 15 April 2021
Visual & observation
- Absolute magnitude (H)
- 24.8
Discovery & classification
Close approaches 37 on record
Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2064-10-27 00:02 UTC close approach of 2017 LF. Catalogue miss distance 164.8 LD · 6.33 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2064-10-24 to 2064-10-30, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2064-10-27 00:02:00 | Earth | 0.4234 AU | 164.8 LD | 18 km/s |
| 2065-11-02 13:51:00 | Earth | 0.3123 AU | 121.6 LD | 14.9 km/s |
| 2066-11-09 11:01:00 | Earth | 0.2022 AU | 78.7 LD | 12 km/s |
| 2067-11-17 05:31:00 | Earth | 0.0966 AU | 37.6 LD | 9.4 km/s |
| 2073-05-25 14:01:00 | Earth | 0.0514 AU | 20.0 LD | 6.9 km/s |
| 2074-05-25 14:58:00 | Earth | 0.0606 AU | 23.6 LD | 8.5 km/s |
| 2075-05-28 11:30:00 | Earth | 0.1654 AU | 64.4 LD | 11 km/s |
| 2076-05-31 10:37:00 | Earth | 0.275 AU | 107.0 LD | 13.8 km/s |
| 2077-06-05 02:08:00 | Earth | 0.3852 AU | 149.9 LD | 16.8 km/s |
| 2078-06-09 19:50:00 | Earth | 0.4949 AU | 192.6 LD | 19.8 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