Asteroid 17 Thetis
Asteroid 17 Thetis is in the constellation of Taurus, at a distance of
Finder Charts
The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of asteroid 17 Thetis in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.
The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of asteroid 17 Thetis against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.
Equatorial Coordinates
Apparent
J2000
Additional Information
Rise and Set Times
The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of asteroid 17 Thetis from Bogovinje, Macedonia (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/Skopje):
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 asteroid 17 Thetis from Earth is currently
The following graph shows the distance of asteroid 17 Thetis from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).
The value of the distance of 17 Thetis from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.
Closest Approach to Earth
In the period between January 1, 1900 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of asteroid 17 Thetis to Earth happened on Wednesday 15 June 1938 at a distance of 1.120642 Astronomical Units, or 167,645,665 kilometers:
Note: the values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Light Curve
The following chart shows the light curve of asteroid 17 Thetis, i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.
Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of asteroid 17 Thetis at epoch February, 24 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database
| Element | Symbol | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit eccentricity | e | 0.13257020 |
| Orbit inclination | i | 5.59200088° |
| Perihelion distance | q | 2.14367299 AU 320,688,915 km |
| Aphelion distance | Q |
2.79891255 AU 418,711,358 km |
| Semi-major axis | a |
2.47129277 AU 369,700,137 km |
| Orbital period | period |
3.8850 years 1,419.0076 days |
| Date of perihelion transit | Tp | October 22, 2023 2,460,240.3925 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | September 10, 2027 2,461,659.4001 JD |
|
| Argument of perihelion | peri | 135.72403018034° |
| Longitude of the ascending node | node | 125.53993295224° |
| Mean anomaly | M | 299.13965437649° |
| Mean motion | n | 0.25369843°/day |
Orbit Visualization
The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of asteroid 17 Thetis relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.
Physical Properties
The table below lists the known key physical properties of asteroid 17 Thetis. The source for this data is the JPL Small-Body Database.
| Physical Parameter | Value | Relative to Earth |
|---|---|---|
| Diameter | 90.04 km | 0.0071 |
| Sideral Rotation | 12.2705 hours | 0.5127 |
| Absolute Magnitude | 7.76 | |
| Geometric Albedo | 0.1715 |
15 Days Ephemeris
The following table lists the ephemerides of asteroid 17 Thetis 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 28 2025 | 04h 43m 21s | +18° 27’ 49” | 13.46 | Taurus |
| Jun 29 2025 | 04h 44m 58s | +18° 30’ 53” | 13.46 | Taurus |
| Jun 30 2025 | 04h 46m 35s | +18° 33’ 52” | 13.47 | Taurus |
| Jul 01 2025 | 04h 48m 12s | +18° 36’ 47” | 13.47 | Taurus |
| Jul 02 2025 | 04h 49m 49s | +18° 39’ 38” | 13.48 | Taurus |
| Jul 03 2025 | 04h 51m 26s | +18° 42’ 24” | 13.48 | Taurus |
| Jul 04 2025 | 04h 53m 03s | +18° 45’ 06” | 13.49 | Taurus |
| Jul 05 2025 | 04h 54m 39s | +18° 47’ 44” | 13.49 | Taurus |
| Jul 06 2025 | 04h 56m 16s | +18° 50’ 17” | 13.49 | Taurus |
| Jul 07 2025 | 04h 57m 52s | +18° 52’ 46” | 13.50 | Taurus |
| Jul 08 2025 | 04h 59m 28s | +18° 55’ 11” | 13.50 | Taurus |
| Jul 09 2025 | 05h 01m 04s | +18° 57’ 31” | 13.50 | Taurus |
| Jul 10 2025 | 05h 02m 40s | +18° 59’ 48” | 13.51 | Taurus |
| Jul 11 2025 | 05h 04m 15s | +19° 02’ 00” | 13.51 | Taurus |
Additional Resources on TheSkyLive
- Asteroid 17 Thetis: Complete reference information on TheSkyLive.com.
- Where is asteroid 17 Thetis?: Key information on where to find asteroid 17 Thetis in the sky.
- Distance of asteroid 17 Thetis from Earth: Find out how far asteroid 17 Thetis is from Earth right now.
- How Bright is asteroid 17 Thetis?: Current visual brightness (magnitude) and apparent size.
- Rise and Set Times: Rise and set times of asteroid 17 Thetis from your location.
- Interactive Sky Map: Planetarium-style interactive visualization of asteroid 17 Thetis's position in the sky.
- Live Position Tracker: High precision real time tracker of asteroid 17 Thetis's position using deep space imagery.
- Ephemeris: 15 days asteroid 17 Thetis's computed ephemeris.
- Orbital elements: Information about asteroid 17 Thetis orbital parameters.
- Orbit Visualization: 3D interactive visualization showing the orbit of asteroid 17 Thetis with respect to the major Solar System objects.
- Physical Data: Detailed information about physical properties of asteroid 17 Thetis.