Skip to content
Public Universe
Centaur

2017 QK71

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2017 QK71)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
9.734 AU
True anomaly
188.67°
Distance from Earth
10.727 AU
As of
11 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.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth 2017 QK71 — 9.734 AU from the Sun 2017 QK71
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2017 QK71 is 10.727 AU from Earth today (1.5 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
13h 24m 25s
Declination
-03° 21′ 52″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
10.73 AU
Elongation from the Sun
5.4° — 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
6.203 AU
Eccentricity
0.5956
Inclination
23.12°
Orbital period
15.45 years
Perihelion
2.509 AU
Aphelion
9.898 AU
Longitude of ascending node
187.57°
Argument of periapsis
185.81°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · CEN
Centaur
Earth MOID · 587.3 LD
1.5092 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.452

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
36
Data arc
552 days
First observed
1 August 2017
Last observed
4 February 2019
Residual RMS
0.64 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
2 July 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
17.5

Discovery & classification

Centaur

Close approaches 2 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2040-03-08 16:14:00 Satrn 0.5265 AU 204.9 LD 4.8 km/s

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

Sources