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Asteroid Near-Earth

446924

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446924 (2002 VV17)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.69 AU
True anomaly
267.76°
Distance from Earth
1.233 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 446924 — 0.69 AU from the Sun 446924
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 446924 is 1.233 AU from Earth today (10.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 26m 32s
Declination
-02° 05′ 55″
Constellation
Leo
Distance from Earth
1.23 AU
Elongation from the Sun
33.82° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
0.837 AU
Eccentricity
0.4367
Inclination
9.69°
Orbital period
279.9 days
Perihelion
0.472 AU
Aphelion
1.203 AU
Longitude of ascending node
222.13°
Argument of periapsis
348.93°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 34.0 LD
0.0875 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.925

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
515
Data arc
33.19 years
First observed
2 October 1992
Last observed
11 December 2025
Residual RMS
0.4 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
11 December 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
20.16

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
LINEAR
Discovery date
7 November 2002
Discovery site
Socorro

Also known as 2002 VV17

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 145 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 446924 at 2031-09-18 00:52 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2031-09-18 00:52 UTC close approach of 446924. Catalogue miss distance 52.9 LD · 2.03 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2031-09-15 to 2031-09-21, 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 north of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 21 Sep 52.9 LD · 2.03 × 10⁷ km 2031-09-18 00:52 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2031-09-18 00:52 UTC close approach of 446924. Catalogue miss distance 52.9 LD · 2.03 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2031-09-15 to 2031-09-21, 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 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
2027-08-31 19:34:00 Merc 0.0444 AU 17.3 LD 18.1 km/s
2027-08-31 19:34:00 Mercury 0.0444 AU 17.3 LD 18.1 km/s
2031-09-18 00:52:00 Earth 0.136 AU 52.9 LD 11.4 km/s
2036-02-05 01:35:00 Mercury 0.0403 AU 15.7 LD 17.9 km/s
2036-02-05 01:35:00 Merc 0.0403 AU 15.7 LD 17.9 km/s
2038-11-25 14:19:00 Earth 0.1365 AU 53.1 LD 10.4 km/s
2044-07-10 14:36:00 Mercury 0.0449 AU 17.5 LD 18.2 km/s
2044-07-10 14:36:00 Merc 0.0449 AU 17.5 LD 18.2 km/s
2044-09-15 20:19:00 Earth 0.1765 AU 68.7 LD 15.7 km/s
2048-12-04 01:39:00 Earth 0.1271 AU 49.5 LD 15.1 km/s

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

Sources