2017 AY13

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2017 AY13

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 15,161,062 km of Earth in 2027
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2017 AY13 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2017 AY13 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2017 AY13 orbits the sun every 1,000 days (2.74 years), coming as close as 0.87 AU and reaching as far as 3.05 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2017 AY13 is probably between 0.133 to 0.298 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2017 AY13's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

2017 AY13 has 10 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 11, 2027 15,161,062 10.035
Sept. 20, 2038 2,558,852 11.823
Oct. 2, 2049 11,282,378 10.303
Nov. 1, 2060 20,060,094 10.116
Nov. 29, 2071 19,764,185 9.967
Dec. 21, 2082 15,120,088 10.953
Jan. 6, 2094 23,383,457 15.447
Sept. 11, 2151 14,677,123 14.991
Sept. 18, 2162 3,617,731 12.754
Sept. 8, 2173 20,496,768 16.124

Images and Observations

2017 AY13's orbit is determined by observations dating back to July 9, 2016. It was last officially observed on Feb. 23, 2017. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 41 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 2017 AY13:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.96 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5567
  • Inclination: 5.74°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 181.93°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 224.25°
  • Mean Anomaly: 177.09°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.172 km
  • Magnitude: 21.5

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,000 days (2.74 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 21.32 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.05 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.87 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2017 AY13 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 below comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 2017 AY13 to create an approximate landscape rendering with New York City in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.