2017 OF201

2017 OF201 is a recently discovered trans-Neptunian object with a very eccentric orbit (0.95 eccentricity), a relatively high orbital inclination of 16.2° and an extremely long orbital period of approximately 25,000 years. It's semimajor orbital axis measures 878.9 Astronomical Units, equivalent to 131 billion kilometers, or 81.3 billion miles and the aphelion is at a distance of 1,713 Astronomical Units. Its most recent perihelion passage happened on November 26 1930. It's discovery is important because of the implications related to the study about the possible existence of Planet 9. This is because the gravity effects of a very large Planet 9 should displace distant trans-Neptunian objects from their original orbits and, based to these preliminary observations, 2017 OF201's orbit does not seem to be influenced by these effects.

2017 OF201 is in the constellation of Triangulum, at a distance of 13,665,667,392.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 02h 02m 48s and the Declination is +28° 32’ 44” (apparent coordinates). The magnitude of 2017 OF201 is 23.21.

Finder Charts

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where 2017 OF201 is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

Also check out Where is 2017 OF201?, a page that provides all the information needed to find 2017 OF201 in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

J2000

Additional Information

Rise and Set Times

Today's rise, transit and set times of 2017 OF201 from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.

Distance from Earth

The distance of 2017 OF201 from Earth is currently 13,665,667,392.0 kilometers, equivalent to 91.3493442658 Astronomical Units. Light takes 12h 39m 43.760s to travel from 2017 OF201 and arrive to us.

The following chart shows the distance of 2017 OF201 from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.

The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of 2017 OF201 from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of 2017 OF201 to Earth happens on Wed Oct 11 2000 at a distance of 74.044156 Astronomical Units, or 11,076,848,044 kilometers:

NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of 2017 OF201, according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of 2017 OF201 computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date	Right AscensionR.A.	DeclinationDec.	MagnitudeMag	Constellation
2025 Jun 06	02h 02m 31s	+28° 30’ 31”	23.20	Triangulum
2025 Jun 07	02h 02m 34s	+28° 30’ 50”	23.21	Triangulum
2025 Jun 08	02h 02m 36s	+28° 31’ 08”	23.21	Triangulum
2025 Jun 09	02h 02m 38s	+28° 31’ 26”	23.21	Triangulum
2025 Jun 10	02h 02m 40s	+28° 31’ 44”	23.21	Triangulum
2025 Jun 11	02h 02m 42s	+28° 32’ 02”	23.21	Triangulum
2025 Jun 12	02h 02m 45s	+28° 32’ 21”	23.21	Triangulum
2025 Jun 13	02h 02m 47s	+28° 32’ 39”	23.21	Triangulum
2025 Jun 14	02h 02m 49s	+28° 32’ 57”	23.21	Triangulum
2025 Jun 15	02h 02m 51s	+28° 33’ 15”	23.21	Triangulum
2025 Jun 16	02h 02m 53s	+28° 33’ 33”	23.21	Triangulum
2025 Jun 17	02h 02m 55s	+28° 33’ 50”	23.21	Triangulum
2025 Jun 18	02h 02m 56s	+28° 34’ 08”	23.21	Triangulum
2025 Jun 19	02h 02m 58s	+28° 34’ 26”	23.21	Triangulum

Additional Resources on TheSkyLive

• 2017 OF201: Complete reference information on TheSkyLive.com.
• Where is 2017 OF201?: Key information on locating 2017 OF201 in the sky.
• Distance from Earth: Find out how far 2017 OF201 is from Earth right now.
• How Bright is 2017 OF201?: Current visual brightness (magnitude) and apparent size.
• Rise and Set Times: 2017 OF201's rise and set times from your location.
• Interactive Sky Map: planetarium-style interactive visualization of 2017 OF201's position in the sky.
• Live Position Tracker: high precision position tracker with deep space imagery.
• Ephemeris: 15 days 2017 OF201's computed ephemeris.
• Orbital elements: information about 2017 OF201 orbital parameters.
• Orbit Visualization. 3d interactive visualization showing the orbit of 2017 OF201 with respect to the major Solar System objects.