2017 XA1

Very small Interior-Earth Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Interior-Earth Asteroids » 2017 XA1

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Interior-Earth Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 22,931,556 km of Earth in 2028
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2017 XA1 is a very small asteroid with an orbit that is entirely confined within Earth's orbit. NASA JPL has classified 2017 XA1 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2017 XA1 orbits the sun every 266 days (0.73 years), coming as close as 0.65 AU and reaching as far as 0.97 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2017 XA1 is probably between 0.146 to 0.327 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2017 XA1's orbit is 0.05 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 XA1 has 18 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Nov. 14, 2028 22,931,556 11.854
Nov. 16, 2036 14,361,315 10.613
Nov. 18, 2044 8,677,170 9.809
Nov. 18, 2052 7,228,439 9.443
Nov. 19, 2060 7,835,889 9.237
Nov. 19, 2068 10,476,346 9.045
Nov. 19, 2076 15,719,379 8.979
Nov. 19, 2084 23,352,133 9.257
Nov. 16, 2111 23,377,440 11.890
Nov. 18, 2119 14,111,653 10.557
Nov. 20, 2127 8,277,196 9.729
Nov. 20, 2135 7,194,622 9.375
Nov. 21, 2143 8,338,751 9.168
Nov. 21, 2151 11,676,181 9.005
Nov. 21, 2159 18,385,732 9.046
Nov. 20, 2167 28,375,795 9.677
Nov. 15, 2186 27,803,664 12.553
Nov. 17, 2194 17,761,594 11.043

Images and Observations

2017 XA1's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 5, 2017. It was last officially observed on Nov. 23, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 30 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 XA1:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8095 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2017
  • Inclination: 17.18°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 239.64°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 327.65°
  • Mean Anomaly: 190.96°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.189 km
  • Magnitude: 21.3

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 266 days (0.73 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 33.11 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 0.97 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.65 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2017 XA1 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 XA1 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.