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Asteroid Near-Earth

2017 WO16

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(2017 WO16)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.106 AU
True anomaly
195.33°
Distance from Earth
0.26 AU
As of
22 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 — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth 2017 WO16 — 1.106 AU from the Sun 2017 WO16
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2017 WO16 is 0.26 AU from Earth today (2.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
20h 57m 28s
Declination
+11° 33′ 37″
Constellation
Delphinus
Distance from Earth
0.26 AU
Elongation from the Sun
108.71° — 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
0.936 AU
Eccentricity
0.1919
Inclination
8.96°
Orbital period
330.9 days
Perihelion
0.757 AU
Aphelion
1.116 AU
Longitude of ascending node
242.08°
Argument of periapsis
300.3°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 2.7 LD
0.007 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.38

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 5).

Observations used
28
Data arc
16 days
First observed
11 November 2017
Last observed
27 November 2017
Residual RMS
0.4 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
28 August 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.04

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 116 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2017 WO16 at 2027-02-27 20:28 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-02-27 20:28 UTC close approach of 2017 WO16. Catalogue miss distance 102.1 LD · 3.92 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-02-24 to 2027-03-02, 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 102.1 LD · 3.92 × 10⁷ km 2027-02-27 20:28 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-02-27 20:28 UTC close approach of 2017 WO16. Catalogue miss distance 102.1 LD · 3.92 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-02-24 to 2027-03-02, 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
2027-02-27 20:28:00 Earth 0.2623 AU 102.1 LD 7 km/s
2027-11-21 11:26:00 Earth 0.2483 AU 96.6 LD 13.7 km/s
2034-07-14 08:46:00 Venus 0.087 AU 33.9 LD 8.2 km/s
2035-08-01 13:40:00 Earth 0.2892 AU 112.5 LD 13.5 km/s
2036-05-06 04:34:00 Earth 0.2248 AU 87.5 LD 7.9 km/s
2036-11-14 23:25:00 Earth 0.1024 AU 39.8 LD 5.5 km/s
2037-11-12 04:09:00 Earth 0.4671 AU 181.8 LD 20.2 km/s
2045-07-17 12:59:00 Earth 0.1427 AU 55.5 LD 8.1 km/s
2046-03-30 02:52:00 Earth 0.2643 AU 102.8 LD 8.1 km/s
2046-11-26 04:56:00 Earth 0.0916 AU 35.6 LD 9.3 km/s

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

Sources