17478 (1991 LQ)

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay (5.08 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

17478 (1991 LQ) is a mid-sized asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter in the main portion of the asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified 1991 LQ as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

1991 LQ orbits the sun every 1,510 days (4.13 years), coming as close as 2.19 AU and reaching as far as 2.97 AU from the sun. 1991 LQ is about 5.1 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

No Close Approaches

1991 LQ's orbit is 1.18 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is an extremely wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

Orbital simulations conducted by NASA JPL's CNEOS do not show any close approaches to Earth.

Images and Observations

1991 LQ's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 13, 1991. It was last officially observed on May 13, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,179 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

This asteroid is not considered a viable target for human exploration by the NHATS study.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 1991 LQ:

• 5 Astraea (A845 XA)
• 13 Egeria (A850 VA)
• 14 Irene (A851 KA)

References

• JPL Small Body Database
• Mission Design
• Sky Finder Chart

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 17478 (1991 LQ) is indicated by a ◯ pink circle. Note that the object may not be in your current field of view. Use the controls below to adjust position, location, and time.

Size Rendering

The above comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 1991 LQ to create an approximate landscape rendering with Mount Everest in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.