2017 HX3

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2017 HX3

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 13,419,667 km of Earth in 2025
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2017 HX3 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2017 HX3 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2017 HX3 orbits the sun every 493 days (1.35 years), coming as close as 0.78 AU and reaching as far as 1.66 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2017 HX3 is probably between 0.112 to 0.251 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2017 HX3'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 HX3 has 19 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Nov. 22, 2025 13,419,667 14.511
June 7, 2040 16,155,890 9.877
Nov. 14, 2048 14,870,557 10.299
May 26, 2063 17,199,751 15.428
June 20, 2067 28,995,995 8.223
Nov. 18, 2075 8,680,145 11.587
May 28, 2090 12,556,891 14.587
Nov. 18, 2102 9,099,367 11.452
May 23, 2117 28,506,758 17.489
June 8, 2121 14,429,122 10.154
Nov. 12, 2129 25,975,885 8.494
Nov. 26, 2133 21,962,700 16.258
June 3, 2148 4,294,088 11.872
Nov. 10, 2156 29,189,009 8.022
Nov. 26, 2160 22,503,513 16.355
May 25, 2171 26,073,365 17.041
June 14, 2175 23,936,630 8.761
Nov. 20, 2183 6,561,048 12.347
June 8, 2198 14,622,427 10.119

Images and Observations

2017 HX3's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 23, 2017. It was last officially observed on Nov. 29, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 75 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 HX3:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.222 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3623
  • Inclination: 12.32°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 67.28°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 266.71°
  • Mean Anomaly: 178.14°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.145 km
  • Magnitude: 21.87

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 493 days (1.35 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.97 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.66 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.78 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2017 HX3 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 HX3 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.