2017 NH

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

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

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 17,737,740 km of Earth in 2040
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

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

2017 NH orbits the sun every 601 days (1.65 years), coming as close as 0.93 AU and reaching as far as 1.85 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2017 NH is probably between 0.127 to 0.284 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

The rotation of 2017 NH has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 2.48 hours.

Close Approaches

2017 NH's orbit is 0.04 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 NH has 13 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 29, 2040 17,737,740 5.944
June 29, 2045 23,716,513 12.402
Nov. 2, 2063 23,645,853 11.453
July 20, 2068 10,181,406 6.729
Oct. 30, 2091 17,919,138 9.820
July 15, 2096 7,697,699 7.334
Nov. 6, 2119 29,083,242 12.759
Aug. 24, 2124 18,040,364 6.151
June 29, 2129 27,034,325 13.040
Oct. 18, 2152 15,176,011 6.694
July 8, 2157 9,732,777 9.461
Oct. 19, 2180 15,019,228 6.748
July 6, 2185 13,408,355 10.277

Images and Observations

2017 NH's orbit is determined by observations dating back to July 1, 2017. It was last officially observed on June 7, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 375 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 NH:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.394 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3297
  • Inclination: 6.25°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 269.51°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 71.84°
  • Mean Anomaly: 243.31°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.164 km
  • Magnitude: 21.6

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 601 days (1.65 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 25.23 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.85 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.93 AU
  • Rotation Period: 2.48 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2017 NH 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 NH 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.