Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Amor-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 21,740,352 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2017 HT3 is a very small asteroid whose orbit approaches the orbit of Earth but does not cross it. NASA JPL has classified 2017 HT3 as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.

2017 HT3 orbits the sun every 733 days (2.01 years), coming as close as 1.15 AU and reaching as far as 2.03 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2017 HT3 is probably between 0.091 to 0.204 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2017 HT3's orbit is 0.14 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 HT3 has 3 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 3, 2019 21,740,352 18.176
May 3, 2021 24,122,460 18.184
May 5, 2023 27,892,123 18.268

Images and Observations

2017 HT3's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 16, 2017. It was last officially observed on April 25, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 152 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 HT3:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.591 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2784
  • Inclination: 34.53°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 41.04°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 185.25°
  • Mean Anomaly: 59.42°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.118 km
  • Magnitude: 22.32

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 733 days (2.01 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.61 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.03 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.15 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2017 HT3 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 HT3 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.