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Asteroid Near-Earth Potentially hazardous

2017 QC36

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(2017 QC36)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.006 AU
True anomaly
158.51°
Distance from Earth
1.424 AU
As of
16 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 — 0.997 AU from the Sun Earth 2017 QC36 — 1.006 AU from the Sun 2017 QC36
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2017 QC36 is 1.424 AU from Earth today (11.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
16h 30m 56s
Declination
-16° 47′ 51″
Constellation
Ophiuchus
Distance from Earth
1.43 AU
Elongation from the Sun
44.95° — 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.

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
0.799 AU
Eccentricity
0.2962
Inclination
17.36°
Orbital period
260.9 days
Perihelion
0.562 AU
Aphelion
1.036 AU
Longitude of ascending node
136.65°
Argument of periapsis
356.59°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 8.1 LD
0.0208 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.226

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
87
Data arc
5.19 years
First observed
13 June 2017
Last observed
23 August 2022
Residual RMS
0.57 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
1 September 2023

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
20.7

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object Potentially Hazardous Asteroid

Close approaches 182 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2017 QC36 at 2027-08-15 22:16 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-08-15 22:16 UTC close approach of 2017 QC36. Catalogue miss distance 29.0 LD · 1.11 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-08-12 to 2027-08-18, 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 south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 29.0 LD · 1.11 × 10⁷ km 2027-08-15 22:16 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-08-15 22:16 UTC close approach of 2017 QC36. Catalogue miss distance 29.0 LD · 1.11 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-08-12 to 2027-08-18, 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 south 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
2027-08-15 22:16:00 Earth 0.0745 AU 29.0 LD 9.9 km/s
2030-01-25 11:02:00 Earth 0.4235 AU 164.8 LD 18.5 km/s
2030-02-07 21:32:00 Venus 0.1481 AU 57.7 LD 14.5 km/s
2032-08-15 16:59:00 Earth 0.0819 AU 31.9 LD 10 km/s
2035-01-24 01:00:00 Earth 0.4239 AU 165.0 LD 18.5 km/s
2037-08-17 02:47:00 Earth 0.0999 AU 38.9 LD 10.3 km/s
2040-01-21 09:25:00 Earth 0.4241 AU 165.1 LD 18.4 km/s
2042-08-18 19:02:00 Earth 0.1269 AU 49.4 LD 10.8 km/s
2045-01-16 17:04:00 Earth 0.4243 AU 165.1 LD 18.1 km/s
2047-04-25 02:57:00 Earth 0.3972 AU 154.6 LD 8.8 km/s

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

Sources