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Asteroid Near-Earth

2017 US

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(2017 US)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.009 AU
True anomaly
163.35°
Distance from Earth
0.445 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 2017 US — 1.009 AU from the Sun 2017 US
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2017 US is 0.445 AU from Earth today (3.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
19h 06m 25s
Declination
-21° 53′ 50″
Constellation
Sagittarius
Distance from Earth
0.45 AU
Elongation from the Sun
78.81° — 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
0.831 AU
Eccentricity
0.2286
Inclination
0.91°
Orbital period
276.8 days
Perihelion
0.641 AU
Aphelion
1.021 AU
Longitude of ascending node
199.51°
Argument of periapsis
357.86°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 2.3 LD
0.0058 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.038

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
133
Data arc
2.93 years
First observed
13 October 2017
Last observed
18 September 2020
Residual RMS
0.4 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
26.2

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 207 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2017 US at 2027-03-10 11:17 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-03-10 11:17 UTC close approach of 2017 US. Catalogue miss distance 131.7 LD · 5.06 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-03-07 to 2027-03-13, 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 131.7 LD · 5.06 × 10⁷ km 2027-03-10 11:17 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-03-10 11:17 UTC close approach of 2017 US. Catalogue miss distance 131.7 LD · 5.06 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-03-07 to 2027-03-13, 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
2026-09-19 22:02:00 Earth 0.3823 AU 148.8 LD 17 km/s
2027-03-10 11:17:00 Earth 0.3384 AU 131.7 LD 10.4 km/s
2030-04-03 10:58:00 Earth 0.3585 AU 139.5 LD 11.4 km/s
2033-04-26 15:29:00 Earth 0.3584 AU 139.5 LD 11.2 km/s
2036-02-29 23:34:00 Venus 0.1485 AU 57.8 LD 4.4 km/s
2036-04-27 09:04:00 Venus 0.0875 AU 34.1 LD 6.4 km/s
2036-05-21 11:50:00 Earth 0.3369 AU 131.1 LD 9.8 km/s
2036-11-05 19:58:00 Earth 0.3697 AU 143.9 LD 16.5 km/s
2039-06-20 07:31:00 Earth 0.2884 AU 112.2 LD 6.9 km/s
2039-11-13 01:53:00 Earth 0.1875 AU 73.0 LD 10.7 km/s

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

Sources