(697402) Ao Outer Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 23 January 2017 by Maunakea at Maunakea.
Ao Manaka is a character in the comic/animation Asteroid in Love created by Japanese manga artist Quro. Ao and her friends enjoy Earth Science Club activities in their high school with a dream of naming an asteroid “Ao.” The work encouraged many readers to study Earth and planetary sciences with its accurate depiction of celestial objects and geology.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 4, #12, 17), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Ao is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Ao is 3.41 au from the Sun and 2.51 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 697402 |
| Provisional designation | 2017 BX232 |
| Orbit class | Outer Main-belt Asteroid |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 17.1 |
| Orbital period | 5.80 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.23 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.94 – 3.52 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0893 |
| Inclination | 8.94° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.94 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.