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Centaur

2023 FC17

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(2023 FC17)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
5.946 AU
True anomaly
108.89°
Distance from Earth
4.996 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 2023 FC17 — 5.946 AU from the Sun 2023 FC17
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2023 FC17 is 4.996 AU from Earth today (41.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
23h 58m 39s
Declination
-01° 53′ 25″
Constellation
Pisces
Distance from Earth
5 AU
Elongation from the Sun
159.75° — 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
6.369 AU
Eccentricity
0.4499
Inclination
2.12°
Orbital period
16.07 years
Perihelion
3.504 AU
Aphelion
9.234 AU
Longitude of ascending node
41.67°
Argument of periapsis
211.63°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · CEN
Centaur
Earth MOID · 968.9 LD
2.4895 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.792

Orbit quality

Orbit reasonably well determined (uncertainty code 3).

Observations used
30
Data arc
18.43 years
First observed
15 March 2007
Last observed
19 August 2025
Residual RMS
0.63 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
17 September 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
15.49

Discovery & classification

Centaur

Close approaches 7 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2030-02-14 09:31:00 Satrn 0.6908 AU 268.8 LD 3.9 km/s
2090-04-03 13:31:00 Juptr 1.5791 AU 614.6 LD 5.7 km/s
2150-11-27 05:59:00 Satrn 1.1662 AU 453.9 LD 4.5 km/s
2170-11-02 03:55:00 Juptr 1.0645 AU 414.3 LD 4 km/s

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

Sources