| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | MLS |
| Discovery site | Mount Lemmon Obs. |
| Discovery date | 15 December 2017 |
| Designations | |
| 2017 XX61 | |
| NEO · Apollo[1][2] | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 16 December 2017 (JD 2458103.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter8[2] · 7[1] | |
| Observation arc | (1 day) |
| Aphelion | 3.2799 AU |
| Perihelion | 0.7945 AU |
| 2.0372 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.6100 |
| 2.91 yr (1,062 days) | |
| 345.28° | |
| 0° 20m 20.4s / day | |
| Inclination | 8.4261° |
| 81.755° | |
| 67.340° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.0162 AU (6.3 LD) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 17 m (est. at 0.14)[3] | |
| 26.6[1][2] | |
2017 XX61 is a small near-Earth object, approximately 17 meters (56 feet) in diameter, that transited Earth at 8 lunar distances on 18 December 2017 at 14:54 UTC. The Apollo asteroid on an eccentric orbit was first observed by the Mount Lemmon Survey and was lost on the following night. As of 2020[update], it has not been recovered.[2]
2017 XX61 was first observed on 15 December 2017, by astronomers of the Mount Lemmon SurveyatMount Lemmon Observatory near Tucson, Arizona.[1]
It orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.8–3.3 AU once every 2 years and 11 months (1,062 days; semi-major axis of 2.04 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.61 and an inclination of 8° with respect to the ecliptic.[2]
2017 XX61 has an Earth minimum orbital intersection distance of 0.0162 AU (2,420,000 km), which translates into 6.3 lunar distances.[2] The asteroid also approached Mars on 11 May 2018.[2]
A generic magnitude-to-diameter conversion gives a mean-diameter of 13–27 meters, for an absolute magnitude of 26.6,[2] and an assumed albedo between 0.25 and 0.057, which typically correspond to the composition of a stony and carbonaceous body, respectively.[3]
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