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Centaur

2017 DX179

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(2017 DX179)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
8.854 AU
True anomaly
195.33°
Distance from Earth
7.86 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 DX179 — 8.854 AU from the Sun 2017 DX179
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2017 DX179 is 7.86 AU from Earth today (1.1 light-hours).

In the sky

Right ascension
00h 51m 50s
Declination
+10° 45′ 49″
Constellation
Pisces
Distance from Earth
7.86 AU
Elongation from the Sun
174.41° — near opposition — up most of the night

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
6.136 AU
Eccentricity
0.4928
Inclination
24.82°
Orbital period
15.2 years
Perihelion
3.112 AU
Aphelion
9.16 AU
Longitude of ascending node
7.15°
Argument of periapsis
174.85°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · CEN
Centaur
Earth MOID · 823.4 LD
2.1159 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
2.563

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
13
Data arc
29 days
First observed
21 February 2017
Last observed
22 March 2017
Residual RMS
0.66 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
2 August 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
15.91

Discovery & classification

Centaur

Sources