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Asteroid Near-Earth

162117

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162117 (1998 SD15)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.252 AU
True anomaly
174.94°
Distance from Earth
0.371 AU
As of
21 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 — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth 162117 — 1.252 AU from the Sun 162117
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 162117 is 0.371 AU from Earth today (3.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
03h 57m 41s
Declination
-32° 58′ 46″
Constellation
Eridanus
Distance from Earth
0.37 AU
Elongation from the Sun
126.18° — well clear of the Sun

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
0.933 AU
Eccentricity
0.3448
Inclination
26.8°
Orbital period
329 days
Perihelion
0.611 AU
Aphelion
1.254 AU
Longitude of ascending node
183.91°
Argument of periapsis
35.88°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 42.9 LD
0.1103 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.289

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
845
Data arc
28.07 years
First observed
23 September 1998
Last observed
18 October 2026
Residual RMS
0.38 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
19 October 2026

Physical properties

Rotation period
7.33 hours

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
19.04

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
LINEAR
Discovery date
23 September 1998
Discovery site
Socorro

Also known as 1998 SD15

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 45 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 162117 at 2034-09-19 14:54 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2034-09-19 14:54 UTC close approach of 162117. Catalogue miss distance 63.3 LD · 2.43 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2034-09-16 to 2034-09-22, 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. At closest approach the object is north of the ecliptic. The path is approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. approximate Sun 63.3 LD · 2.43 × 10⁷ km 2034-09-19 14:54 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2034-09-19 14:54 UTC close approach of 162117. Catalogue miss distance 63.3 LD · 2.43 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2034-09-16 to 2034-09-22, 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. At closest approach the object is north of the ecliptic. The path is approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2034-06-09 23:43:00 Venus 0.125 AU 48.6 LD 22.5 km/s
2034-09-19 14:54:00 Earth 0.1627 AU 63.3 LD 18 km/s
2043-09-20 09:40:00 Earth 0.1925 AU 74.9 LD 18.8 km/s
2046-02-27 05:55:00 Venus 0.0992 AU 38.6 LD 20.5 km/s
2059-08-30 16:18:00 Venus 0.1249 AU 48.6 LD 22.5 km/s
2071-05-20 12:00:00 Venus 0.1026 AU 39.9 LD 20.5 km/s
2084-11-19 14:47:00 Venus 0.1222 AU 47.5 LD 22.4 km/s
2089-09-23 17:24:00 Earth 0.1766 AU 68.7 LD 14.3 km/s
2096-08-08 17:39:00 Venus 0.1 AU 38.9 LD 20.5 km/s
2098-09-22 12:07:00 Earth 0.1517 AU 59.1 LD 14.5 km/s

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

Sources