SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2017 QC3

2017 QC3

2017 QC3 is an Amor-type near-Earth asteroid that approaches Earth from beyond our orbit without crossing it, orbiting the Sun at 1.692 AU once every 2.20 yr.

Amor Observations: 40
Orbital Period · P
2.20 yr
v(q)
31.5 km/s
v(Q)
16.7 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.16 km
TJ
4.03
Eccentricity · e
0.3082

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 1.171 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.213 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 1.042 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.692 AU gives an orbital period of 2.20 yr, or about 804 days.

An eccentricity of 0.308 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

A steep inclination of 28.83° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 31.5 km/s at perihelion and falls to 16.7 km/s at aphelion.

Its perihelion lies just outside Earth's orbit, which is why it is classed as Earth-approaching rather than Earth-crossing.

Size and surface

No direct size measurement is available; from an absolute magnitude of H = 21.7 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.16 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 40 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.3495 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 6 indicates a moderately constrained orbit; predictions decades ahead still carry noticeable uncertainty.

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
1.692 AU
Eccentricity
0.3082
Perihelion
1.171 AU
Aphelion
2.213474 AU
Inclination
28.83°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
31.32°

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

Predicted close approaches to Earth, from NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS).

Date (UTC)Miss distanceVelocity
2028-Aug-14 07:29 0.290626 AU
43476976 km
14.89 km/s
2039-Aug-14 15:55 0.286483 AU
42857256 km
15.19 km/s
2050-Aug-14 04:31 0.285787 AU
42753173 km
15.53 km/s

Distances in astronomical units (AU) and kilometres. Source: NASA/JPL CNEOS Close Approach Data API.

Physical Parameters

Diameter
— km
Albedo
—
Density
— g/cm³
Rotation Period
— h
Absolute Magnitude
21.7

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.34947
Condition
6
Orbit ID
—
Data source: NASA JPL Small-Body Database · NASA CNEOS. 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.

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