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Asteroid Near-Earth

2017 WQ1

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(2017 WQ1)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.092 AU
True anomaly
186.82°
Distance from Earth
0.981 AU
As of
16 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 — 0.997 AU from the Sun Earth 2017 WQ1 — 1.092 AU from the Sun 2017 WQ1
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2017 WQ1 is 0.981 AU from Earth today (8.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 14m 21s
Declination
+12° 56′ 30″
Constellation
Cancer
Distance from Earth
0.98 AU
Elongation from the Sun
67.15° — 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
0.814 AU
Eccentricity
0.3462
Inclination
4.3°
Orbital period
268.5 days
Perihelion
0.533 AU
Aphelion
1.096 AU
Longitude of ascending node
222.3°
Argument of periapsis
30.09°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 3.1 LD
0.008 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.129

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
37
Data arc
11 days
First observed
16 November 2017
Last observed
27 November 2017
Residual RMS
0.34 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
14 August 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.98

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 123 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2017 WQ1 at 2028-10-28 12:58 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-10-28 12:58 UTC close approach of 2017 WQ1. Catalogue miss distance 13.2 LD · 5.06 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-10-25 to 2028-10-31, 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 26 Oct 31 Oct 13.2 LD · 5.06 × 10⁶ km 2028-10-28 12:58 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-10-28 12:58 UTC close approach of 2017 WQ1. Catalogue miss distance 13.2 LD · 5.06 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-10-25 to 2028-10-31, 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
2027-01-11 14:47:00 Venus 0.1145 AU 44.6 LD 15.9 km/s
2027-12-22 14:01:00 Venus 0.1135 AU 44.2 LD 15.8 km/s
2028-10-28 12:58:00 Earth 0.0338 AU 13.2 LD 10.2 km/s
2029-04-08 09:21:00 Earth 0.4047 AU 157.5 LD 12.7 km/s
2031-07-16 09:56:00 Merc 0.095 AU 37.0 LD 14.6 km/s
2031-07-16 09:56:00 Mercury 0.095 AU 37.0 LD 14.6 km/s
2031-08-27 23:24:00 Venus 0.091 AU 35.4 LD 11.5 km/s
2034-07-15 05:17:00 Earth 0.4504 AU 175.3 LD 15.1 km/s
2035-01-10 11:41:00 Earth 0.2042 AU 79.5 LD 15.2 km/s
2035-04-27 22:49:00 Venus 0.1345 AU 52.3 LD 7.8 km/s

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

Sources