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Asteroid Near-Earth

2017 QC17

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(2017 QC17)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.553 AU
True anomaly
284.38°
Distance from Earth
0.714 AU
As of
19 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 — 0.996 AU from the Sun Earth 2017 QC17 — 0.553 AU from the Sun 2017 QC17
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2017 QC17 is 0.714 AU from Earth today (5.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 37m 41s
Declination
-00° 31′ 46″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
0.73 AU
Elongation from the Sun
32.24° — 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.

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
0.864 AU
Eccentricity
0.5261
Inclination
5.34°
Orbital period
293.4 days
Perihelion
0.41 AU
Aphelion
1.319 AU
Longitude of ascending node
115.52°
Argument of periapsis
30.52°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 7.8 LD
0.02 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.712

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
49
Data arc
7.99 years
First observed
18 August 2017
Last observed
16 August 2025
Residual RMS
0.64 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
26 August 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
22.41

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 112 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2017 QC17 at 2037-07-11 20:48 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2037-07-11 20:48 UTC close approach of 2017 QC17. Catalogue miss distance 65.9 LD · 2.53 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2037-07-08 to 2037-07-14, 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. Sun 65.9 LD · 2.53 × 10⁷ km 2037-07-11 20:48 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2037-07-11 20:48 UTC close approach of 2017 QC17. Catalogue miss distance 65.9 LD · 2.53 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2037-07-08 to 2037-07-14, 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.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2028-01-31 22:45:00 Mars 0.0752 AU 29.3 LD 8.9 km/s
2032-05-17 15:00:00 Venus 0.1003 AU 39.0 LD 14.7 km/s
2035-10-15 22:01:00 Venus 0.1072 AU 41.7 LD 14.4 km/s
2037-07-11 20:48:00 Earth 0.1694 AU 65.9 LD 11.3 km/s
2041-07-06 14:53:00 Earth 0.0987 AU 38.4 LD 12.5 km/s
2042-10-01 23:04:00 Earth 0.1325 AU 51.6 LD 17.8 km/s
2042-10-27 04:57:00 Venus 0.0591 AU 23.0 LD 21.2 km/s
2043-10-24 01:52:00 Venus 0.136 AU 52.9 LD 25.4 km/s
2045-07-05 14:21:00 Earth 0.0346 AU 13.5 LD 14.2 km/s
2046-10-03 14:04:00 Earth 0.0953 AU 37.1 LD 15.7 km/s

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

Sources