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Asteroid Near-Earth

2017 VD2

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(2017 VD2)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.055 AU
True anomaly
140.79°
Distance from Earth
0.84 AU
As of
20 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 VD2 — 1.055 AU from the Sun 2017 VD2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2017 VD2 is 0.84 AU from Earth today (7.0 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
18h 15m 55s
Declination
+04° 59′ 00″
Constellation
Ophiuchus
Distance from Earth
0.84 AU
Elongation from the Sun
69.63° — 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
0.888 AU
Eccentricity
0.3036
Inclination
24.31°
Orbital period
305.9 days
Perihelion
0.619 AU
Aphelion
1.158 AU
Longitude of ascending node
228.52°
Argument of periapsis
332.08°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 38.6 LD
0.0992 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.574

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
259
Data arc
5.03 years
First observed
10 November 2017
Last observed
23 November 2022
Residual RMS
0.43 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
28 August 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
21.49

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 51 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2017 VD2 at 2048-11-18 14:21 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2048-11-18 14:21 UTC close approach of 2017 VD2. Catalogue miss distance 45.2 LD · 1.74 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2048-11-15 to 2048-11-21, 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 45.2 LD · 1.74 × 10⁷ km 2048-11-18 14:21 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2048-11-18 14:21 UTC close approach of 2017 VD2. Catalogue miss distance 45.2 LD · 1.74 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2048-11-15 to 2048-11-21, 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
2035-10-19 01:09:00 Venus 0.148 AU 57.6 LD 22 km/s
2045-01-02 08:47:00 Venus 0.0852 AU 33.1 LD 20.2 km/s
2048-11-18 14:21:00 Earth 0.1161 AU 45.2 LD 14.5 km/s
2053-11-14 03:36:00 Earth 0.1167 AU 45.4 LD 13.2 km/s
2054-03-18 10:14:00 Venus 0.1108 AU 43.1 LD 19.4 km/s
2058-11-06 08:58:00 Earth 0.193 AU 75.1 LD 12.9 km/s
2075-02-27 18:10:00 Venus 0.1055 AU 41.1 LD 20.9 km/s
2079-11-20 07:34:00 Earth 0.1567 AU 61.0 LD 15.6 km/s
2084-05-13 13:56:00 Venus 0.0866 AU 33.7 LD 19.6 km/s
2084-11-16 16:40:00 Earth 0.1002 AU 39.0 LD 13.6 km/s

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

Sources