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Asteroid Near-Earth

2017 TF2

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(2017 TF2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.979 AU
True anomaly
172.3°
Distance from Earth
0.462 AU
As of
15 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 TF2 — 0.979 AU from the Sun 2017 TF2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2017 TF2 is 0.462 AU from Earth today (3.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
18h 27m 27s
Declination
-08° 22′ 19″
Constellation
Scutum
Distance from Earth
0.47 AU
Elongation from the Sun
74.33° — well clear of the Sun

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
0.716 AU
Eccentricity
0.3748
Inclination
13.86°
Orbital period
221.2 days
Perihelion
0.448 AU
Aphelion
0.984 AU
Longitude of ascending node
326.96°
Argument of periapsis
217.65°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 35.5 LD
0.0913 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.938

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
68
Data arc
3.01 years
First observed
9 October 2017
Last observed
13 October 2020
Residual RMS
0.4 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
20.3

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 185 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2017 TF2 at 2027-01-19 02:29 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-01-19 02:29 UTC close approach of 2017 TF2. Catalogue miss distance 176.0 LD · 6.76 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-01-16 to 2027-01-22, 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 176.0 LD · 6.76 × 10⁷ km 2027-01-19 02:29 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-01-19 02:29 UTC close approach of 2017 TF2. Catalogue miss distance 176.0 LD · 6.76 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-01-16 to 2027-01-22, 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
2027-01-19 02:29:00 Earth 0.4521 AU 176.0 LD 15.9 km/s
2030-02-04 18:49:00 Earth 0.4891 AU 190.4 LD 19.2 km/s
2031-06-06 12:04:00 Earth 0.4929 AU 191.8 LD 12.7 km/s
2031-10-04 11:18:00 Earth 0.462 AU 179.8 LD 19.6 km/s
2034-07-03 07:15:00 Earth 0.4205 AU 163.6 LD 7.4 km/s
2034-10-07 04:48:00 Earth 0.3309 AU 128.8 LD 14.4 km/s
2037-09-28 17:08:00 Earth 0.2223 AU 86.5 LD 9.5 km/s
2040-09-06 20:36:00 Earth 0.1217 AU 47.4 LD 8.4 km/s
2043-09-05 21:25:00 Earth 0.1122 AU 43.7 LD 11.4 km/s
2046-09-10 02:18:00 Earth 0.2388 AU 92.9 LD 15.9 km/s

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

Sources