2017 YO3

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
• Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
• Will pass within 17,460,432 km of Earth in 2020
• Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

2017 YO3 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2017 YO3 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 YO3 orbits the sun every 238 days (0.65 years), coming as close as 0.49 AU and reaching as far as 1.01 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2017 YO3 is probably between 0.006 to 0.014 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2017 YO3's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is very close to Earth's orbit.

2017 YO3 has 5 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

NASA Sentry has assessed impact risk for 14 very close approach scenarios. Here are the top scenarios ordered by probability of impact:

Images and Observations

2017 YO3's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 22, 2017. It was last officially observed on Dec. 25, 2017. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 25 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 YO3:

• 138258 (2000 GD2)
• 163243 (2002 FB3)
• 264357 (2000 AZ93)

References

• JPL Small Body Database
• Mission Design
• Sky Finder Chart

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2017 YO3 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.