Asteroid 2017 JA flew past Earth at a distance of 0.26 LD
A newly discovered asteroid 2017 JA flew past Earth at a distance of 0.26 LD (~99 840 km / 62 037 miles) on May 2, 2017, just a day after it was discovered. This is the 22nd known near-Earth asteroid to flyby Earth within 1 lunar distance (according to data available September 20, 2017).
2017 JA was first observed at Mt. Lemmon Survey on May 1, 2017. This is a small, Apollo group asteroid with an estimated diameter between 2 and 9 m (6 – 29 feet).
It flew past Earth at a speed (relative to the Earth) of 16.03 km/s at 07:54 UTC on May 2.
[ Ephemeris | Orbit Diagram | Orbital Elements | Physical Parameters | Close-Approach Data ]
References:
Asteroid 2017 JA at Minor Planet Center, CNEOS
Featured image: The green line indicates the object's apparent motion relative to the Earth, and the bright green marks are the object's location at approximately one hour intervals. The Moon's orbit is grey. The blue arrow points in the direction of Earth's motion and the yellow arrow points toward the Sun. Credit: Minor Planet Center
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