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Asteroid Near-Earth

2017 VB13

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(2017 VB13)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.048 AU
True anomaly
166.22°
Distance from Earth
0.48 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 VB13 — 1.048 AU from the Sun 2017 VB13
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2017 VB13 is 0.48 AU from Earth today (4.0 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
19h 01m 02s
Declination
+13° 49′ 11″
Constellation
Aquila
Distance from Earth
0.48 AU
Elongation from the Sun
82.63° — well clear of the Sun

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
0.88 AU
Eccentricity
0.1991
Inclination
21.38°
Orbital period
301.7 days
Perihelion
0.705 AU
Aphelion
1.056 AU
Longitude of ascending node
231.4°
Argument of periapsis
325.48°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 7.9 LD
0.0202 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.661

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).

Observations used
45
Data arc
4 days
First observed
13 November 2017
Last observed
17 November 2017
Residual RMS
0.52 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.5

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 76 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2017 VB13 at 2027-04-11 05:10 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-04-11 05:10 UTC close approach of 2017 VB13. Catalogue miss distance 132.5 LD · 5.09 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-04-08 to 2027-04-14, 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 132.5 LD · 5.09 × 10⁷ km 2027-04-11 05:10 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-04-11 05:10 UTC close approach of 2017 VB13. Catalogue miss distance 132.5 LD · 5.09 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-04-08 to 2027-04-14, 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
2026-10-11 12:46:00 Earth 0.4634 AU 180.4 LD 15.4 km/s
2027-04-11 05:10:00 Earth 0.3405 AU 132.5 LD 14.6 km/s
2027-11-07 02:45:00 Earth 0.485 AU 188.8 LD 22.2 km/s
2031-06-14 02:22:00 Venus 0.1257 AU 48.9 LD 15.7 km/s
2031-07-20 19:59:00 Earth 0.3672 AU 142.9 LD 12.4 km/s
2031-11-04 03:34:00 Earth 0.2507 AU 97.6 LD 11.9 km/s
2032-02-26 17:30:00 Earth 0.3982 AU 155.0 LD 9.6 km/s
2033-12-04 02:18:00 Venus 0.0071 AU 2.8 LD 16 km/s
2036-05-24 14:07:00 Venus 0.0858 AU 33.4 LD 17.4 km/s
2036-06-06 20:24:00 Earth 0.2844 AU 110.7 LD 14.3 km/s

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

Sources