Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2017 VS12

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2017 VS12)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.915 AU
True anomaly
112.67°
Distance from Earth
1.204 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 VS12 — 0.915 AU from the Sun 2017 VS12
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2017 VS12 is 1.204 AU from Earth today (10.0 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
17h 01m 04s
Declination
-15° 12′ 52″
Constellation
Ophiuchus
Distance from Earth
1.21 AU
Elongation from the Sun
48.18° — 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
0.893 AU
Eccentricity
0.3191
Inclination
11.87°
Orbital period
308.5 days
Perihelion
0.608 AU
Aphelion
1.179 AU
Longitude of ascending node
254.4°
Argument of periapsis
303.06°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 3.0 LD
0.0078 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.592

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
33
Data arc
27 days
First observed
12 November 2017
Last observed
9 December 2017
Residual RMS
0.44 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
23

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 77 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2017 VS12 at 2027-08-28 07:19 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-08-28 07:19 UTC close approach of 2017 VS12. Catalogue miss distance 154.4 LD · 5.94 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-08-25 to 2027-08-31, 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 154.4 LD · 5.94 × 10⁷ km 2027-08-28 07:19 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-08-28 07:19 UTC close approach of 2017 VS12. Catalogue miss distance 154.4 LD · 5.94 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-08-25 to 2027-08-31, 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
2027-08-28 07:19:00 Earth 0.3968 AU 154.4 LD 20.2 km/s
2028-05-11 05:03:00 Earth 0.382 AU 148.7 LD 14.1 km/s
2028-12-02 11:14:00 Earth 0.0959 AU 37.3 LD 8.7 km/s
2033-07-13 03:25:00 Earth 0.2399 AU 93.4 LD 8.8 km/s
2034-03-08 06:39:00 Earth 0.3989 AU 155.2 LD 12.5 km/s
2034-11-21 05:03:00 Earth 0.4203 AU 163.6 LD 23 km/s
2034-12-11 02:08:00 Venus 0.1406 AU 54.7 LD 11.9 km/s
2038-08-23 01:21:00 Earth 0.3135 AU 122.0 LD 17.2 km/s
2039-04-29 17:30:00 Earth 0.3992 AU 155.3 LD 14.7 km/s
2039-12-05 04:00:00 Moon 0.0082 AU 3.2 LD 10.5 km/s

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

Sources