Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 19,595,037 km of Earth in 2036
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2017 FE65 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2017 FE65 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2017 FE65 orbits the sun every 563 days (1.54 years), coming as close as 0.86 AU and reaching as far as 1.81 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2017 FE65 is probably between 0.198 to 0.443 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2017 FE65's orbit is 0.02 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 FE65 has 8 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 4, 2036 19,595,037 13.459
Sept. 22, 2053 6,521,491 15.653
Oct. 10, 2073 27,313,780 13.098
Sept. 17, 2090 19,637,544 17.388
Sept. 26, 2110 3,232,151 15.119
Oct. 3, 2130 13,773,636 13.823
Sept. 29, 2167 5,132,397 14.622
Sept. 18, 2184 19,358,248 17.362

Images and Observations

2017 FE65's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 28, 2014. It was last officially observed on June 30, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 93 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 FE65:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.335 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3583
  • Inclination: 22.92°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 183.83°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 237.55°
  • Mean Anomaly: 164.35°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.256 km
  • Magnitude: 20.64

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 563 days (1.54 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 25.80 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.81 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.86 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2017 FE65 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 FE65 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.