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Asteroid Near-Earth Potentially hazardous

2017 QW17

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(2017 QW17)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.051 AU
True anomaly
141.74°
Distance from Earth
1.019 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 QW17 — 1.051 AU from the Sun 2017 QW17
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2017 QW17 is 1.019 AU from Earth today (8.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
18h 03m 25s
Declination
-25° 27′ 45″
Constellation
Sagittarius
Distance from Earth
1.02 AU
Elongation from the Sun
62.99° — 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
0.888 AU
Eccentricity
0.6452
Inclination
12.34°
Orbital period
305.6 days
Perihelion
0.315 AU
Aphelion
1.461 AU
Longitude of ascending node
337.05°
Argument of periapsis
208.73°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 17.2 LD
0.0442 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.477

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
196
Data arc
6.14 years
First observed
20 August 2017
Last observed
10 October 2023
Residual RMS
0.48 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
2 May 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
21.63

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object Potentially Hazardous Asteroid

Close approaches 180 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2017 QW17 at 2027-08-19 04:37 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-08-19 04:37 UTC close approach of 2017 QW17. Catalogue miss distance 17.8 LD · 6.83 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-08-16 to 2027-08-22, 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 south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 17 Aug 21 Aug 17.8 LD · 6.83 × 10⁶ km 2027-08-19 04:37 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-08-19 04:37 UTC close approach of 2017 QW17. Catalogue miss distance 17.8 LD · 6.83 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-08-16 to 2027-08-22, 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 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
2027-08-19 04:37:00 Earth 0.0457 AU 17.8 LD 19.9 km/s
2032-07-14 13:22:00 Merc 0.0693 AU 27.0 LD 33.8 km/s
2032-07-14 13:22:00 Mercury 0.0693 AU 27.0 LD 33.8 km/s
2032-08-21 10:30:00 Earth 0.1096 AU 42.7 LD 23.1 km/s
2033-06-04 13:15:00 Venus 0.0914 AU 35.6 LD 22 km/s
2034-03-16 08:11:00 Merc 0.0873 AU 34.0 LD 23.5 km/s
2034-03-16 08:11:00 Mercury 0.0873 AU 34.0 LD 23.5 km/s
2037-07-02 13:29:00 Mercury 0.0867 AU 33.7 LD 22.7 km/s
2037-07-02 13:29:00 Merc 0.0867 AU 33.7 LD 22.7 km/s
2039-03-03 11:12:00 Merc 0.0598 AU 23.3 LD 37.7 km/s

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

Sources