2017 OU18

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2017 OU18

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 18,086,490 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2017 OU18 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2017 OU18 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 OU18 orbits the sun every 274 days (0.75 years), coming as close as 0.51 AU and reaching as far as 1.14 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2017 OU18 is probably between 0.043 to 0.095 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2017 OU18's orbit is 0.12 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 OU18 has 30 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
July 24, 2020 18,086,490 15.199
July 25, 2023 17,919,361 15.200
July 24, 2026 17,820,390 15.207
July 24, 2029 17,712,039 15.212
July 23, 2032 17,647,157 15.222
July 24, 2035 17,586,606 15.236
July 23, 2038 17,581,687 15.257
July 23, 2041 17,572,829 15.278
July 22, 2044 17,611,552 15.300
July 23, 2047 17,658,180 15.321
July 22, 2050 17,774,859 15.347
July 22, 2053 17,917,368 15.372
July 21, 2056 18,127,604 15.403
July 22, 2059 18,404,438 15.439
July 21, 2062 18,782,692 15.490
July 20, 2065 19,254,671 15.550
July 20, 2068 19,857,515 15.625
July 20, 2071 20,608,960 15.716
July 19, 2074 21,523,559 15.831
July 18, 2077 22,645,148 15.965
July 18, 2080 23,971,052 16.124
July 18, 2083 25,558,267 16.313
July 17, 2086 27,367,289 16.538
July 16, 2089 29,449,786 16.802
Aug. 3, 2183 29,631,825 15.629
Aug. 2, 2186 28,082,046 15.530
Aug. 1, 2189 26,671,650 15.450
Aug. 1, 2192 25,423,454 15.388
Aug. 1, 2195 24,284,718 15.334
July 31, 2198 23,297,496 15.295

Images and Observations

2017 OU18's orbit is determined by observations dating back to July 25, 2011. It was last officially observed on July 21, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 33 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 OU18:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8257 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3774
  • Inclination: 30.38°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 302.21°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 185.25°
  • Mean Anomaly: 235.27°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.055 km
  • Magnitude: 23.98

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 274 days (0.75 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 32.78 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.14 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.51 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2017 OU18 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 OU18 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.