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Asteroid Near-Earth

2017 SB20

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(2017 SB20)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.921 AU
True anomaly
88.32°
Distance from Earth
1.914 AU
As of
24 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 — 0.994 AU from the Sun Earth 2017 SB20 — 0.921 AU from the Sun 2017 SB20
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2017 SB20 is 1.914 AU from Earth today (15.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 05m 43s
Declination
-13° 54′ 52″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.91 AU
Elongation from the Sun
2.68° — too close to the Sun to observe

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
0.973 AU
Eccentricity
0.2172
Inclination
5.44°
Orbital period
350.6 days
Perihelion
0.762 AU
Aphelion
1.184 AU
Longitude of ascending node
11.84°
Argument of periapsis
116.32°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 4.2 LD
0.0107 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.188

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
43
Data arc
20 days
First observed
18 September 2017
Last observed
8 October 2017
Residual RMS
0.56 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 62 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2017 SB20 at 2037-06-02 08:44 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2037-06-02 08:44 UTC close approach of 2017 SB20. Catalogue miss distance 134.0 LD · 5.15 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2037-05-30 to 2037-06-05, 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. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 134.0 LD · 5.15 × 10⁷ km 2037-06-02 08:44 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2037-06-02 08:44 UTC close approach of 2017 SB20. Catalogue miss distance 134.0 LD · 5.15 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2037-05-30 to 2037-06-05, 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. 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
2027-08-14 14:16:00 Venus 0.0777 AU 30.2 LD 5.6 km/s
2037-06-02 08:44:00 Earth 0.3443 AU 134.0 LD 16.2 km/s
2038-05-21 13:00:00 Earth 0.1201 AU 46.7 LD 9.2 km/s
2039-04-13 12:38:00 Earth 0.1453 AU 56.5 LD 5 km/s
2040-02-15 14:17:00 Earth 0.2278 AU 88.7 LD 7.5 km/s
2040-08-16 03:30:00 Earth 0.1858 AU 72.3 LD 5.3 km/s
2040-12-27 14:16:00 Earth 0.2191 AU 85.3 LD 6.5 km/s
2041-10-10 17:14:00 Earth 0.0394 AU 15.3 LD 5.6 km/s
2042-10-05 17:58:00 Earth 0.1949 AU 75.9 LD 12.1 km/s
2042-12-28 15:30:00 Venus 0.0505 AU 19.6 LD 4.2 km/s

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

Sources