2017 XX₆₁ is a small near-Earth object, approximately 17 meters (56 feet) in diameter that follows an eccentric orbit. This Apollo asteroid was first observed on 15 December 2017, by astronomers of the Mount Lemmon Survey at Mount Lemmon Observatory near Tucson, Arizona.^[1] It transited Earth at 8 lunar distances on 18 December 2017 at 14:54 UTC, and was lost on the following night. As of 2020^[update], it has not been recovered.^[2]

2017 XX₆₁ 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]

• 2017 XX61 at NeoDyS-2, Near Earth Objects—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemerides · Observation prediction · Orbital info · MOID · Proper elements · Observational info · Close approaches · Physical info · Orbit animation
• 2017 XX61 at ESA–space situational awareness
  • Ephemerides · Observations · Orbit · Physical properties · Summary
• 2017 XX61 at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters

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