SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2017 BU

2017 BU

2017 BU belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.02 AU it takes 1.03 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 76
Orbital Period · P
1.03 yr
v(q)
38.2 km/s
v(Q)
22.8 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.03 km
TJ
5.96
Eccentricity · e
0.2514

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.763 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.276 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.513 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.02 AU gives an orbital period of 1.03 yr, or about 376 days.

An eccentricity of 0.251 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

Its inclination of 1.5° keeps it close to the plane of the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 38.2 km/s at perihelion and falls to 22.8 km/s at aphelion.

Because q < 1 AU and Q > 1 AU, this orbit geometrically intersects the region of Earth's orbit.

Size and surface

No direct size measurement is available; from an absolute magnitude of H = 25.21 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.03 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 76 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.4971 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 0 means the orbit is very well determined, leaving only a small uncertainty in the future ephemeris.

About these computed values

Orbital periods, perihelion and aphelion speeds, and diameter estimates on this page are computed by SpaceAtlas from the JPL SBDB orbital elements. They are derived quantities, not values copied from the source catalogue.

Orbital Parameters

Semi-Major Axis
1.02 AU
Eccentricity
0.2514
Perihelion
0.763 AU
Aphelion
1.276428 AU
Inclination
1.5°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
315.02°

Orbit diagram

The Sun sits at the focus (orange). Earth's orbit is the grey circle at 1 AU. The red dot marks the object's position at the catalog epoch.

3D orbit (interactive)

Drag to rotate; scroll or pinch to zoom. The Sun is at the focus (orange), Earth's orbit is the grey ring at 1 AU, and the red dot marks the object's current position.

Close approaches

No close approaches to Earth are currently on record for this object.

Physical Parameters

Diameter
— km
Albedo
—
Density
— g/cm³
Rotation Period
— h
Absolute Magnitude
25.21

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.4971
Condition
0
Orbit ID
—
Data source: NASA JPL Small-Body Database . Orbital periods, perihelion and aphelion speeds, and diameter estimates on this page are computed by SpaceAtlas from the JPL SBDB orbital elements. They are derived quantities, not values copied from the source catalogue.

Keep exploring

Explore asteroids, comets and near-Earth objects with JPL orbital data.