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Asteroid Near-Earth

2017 RK15

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(2017 RK15)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.126 AU
True anomaly
208.68°
Distance from Earth
0.451 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 RK15 — 1.126 AU from the Sun 2017 RK15
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2017 RK15 is 0.451 AU from Earth today (3.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
07h 48m 07s
Declination
+34° 36′ 43″
Constellation
Gemini
Distance from Earth
0.44 AU
Elongation from the Sun
94.5° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

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
0.863 AU
Eccentricity
0.4191
Inclination
5.74°
Orbital period
293 days
Perihelion
0.502 AU
Aphelion
1.225 AU
Longitude of ascending node
344.54°
Argument of periapsis
216.26°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 5.9 LD
0.0152 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.763

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
30
Data arc
3.97 years
First observed
13 September 2017
Last observed
1 September 2021
Residual RMS
0.66 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
1 September 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.68

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 249 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2017 RK15 at 2026-11-24 02:11 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-11-24 02:11 UTC close approach of 2017 RK15. Catalogue miss distance 115.4 LD · 4.44 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-11-21 to 2026-11-27, 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 115.4 LD · 4.44 × 10⁷ km 2026-11-24 02:11 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2026-11-24 02:11 UTC close approach of 2017 RK15. Catalogue miss distance 115.4 LD · 4.44 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2026-11-21 to 2026-11-27, 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
2026-11-24 02:11:00 Earth 0.2965 AU 115.4 LD 20.7 km/s
2026-12-28 16:18:00 Venus 0.1391 AU 54.1 LD 10.5 km/s
2029-08-31 01:38:00 Earth 0.1045 AU 40.7 LD 15.2 km/s
2030-11-26 22:54:00 Earth 0.2309 AU 89.9 LD 18.4 km/s
2032-10-14 08:21:00 Venus 0.1058 AU 41.2 LD 10.5 km/s
2033-09-02 05:10:00 Earth 0.1756 AU 68.4 LD 17.4 km/s
2034-11-29 11:20:00 Earth 0.168 AU 65.4 LD 16.1 km/s
2037-05-26 13:57:00 Venus 0.0689 AU 26.8 LD 18 km/s
2037-09-04 16:23:00 Earth 0.2434 AU 94.7 LD 19.6 km/s
2038-12-01 08:55:00 Earth 0.1205 AU 46.9 LD 14 km/s

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

Sources