2017 YS8

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2017 YS8

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 15,139,836 km of Earth in 2022
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2017 YS8 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2017 YS8 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2017 YS8 orbits the sun every 294 days (0.80 years), coming as close as 0.53 AU and reaching as far as 1.20 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2017 YS8 is probably between 0.308 to 0.689 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

Close Approaches

2017 YS8'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 YS8 has 13 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Feb. 10, 2022 15,139,836 18.009
Feb. 5, 2047 14,814,857 21.399
Feb. 10, 2051 11,461,831 18.450
Feb. 5, 2076 17,188,909 21.791
Feb. 10, 2080 9,725,037 18.679
Feb. 5, 2105 16,509,645 21.681
Feb. 10, 2109 10,521,207 18.554
Feb. 6, 2134 13,422,381 21.172
Feb. 11, 2138 13,706,900 18.173
Feb. 8, 2163 10,234,901 20.655
Feb. 12, 2167 16,738,188 17.852
Feb. 8, 2192 9,466,026 20.531
Feb. 13, 2196 17,283,315 17.787

Images and Observations

2017 YS8's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 8, 2017. It was last officially observed on Feb. 17, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 220 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 YS8:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8656 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3826
  • Inclination: 32.3°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 321.31°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 303.26°
  • Mean Anomaly: 260.86°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.398 km
  • Magnitude: 19.68

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 294 days (0.80 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 32.03 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.20 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.53 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2017 YS8 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 YS8 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.