(248370) 2005 QN173 is a main belt asteroid that undergoes recurrent comet-like activity near perihelion,[4][5] and is now designated comet 433P/(248370) 2005 QN173.

[6] Archival imagery showed it had been active during a previous perihelion passage,[8] dated July 22, 2016.

[9] At the time that activity was identified, the object displayed a long, dusty tail, much like a comet.

Its colors are consistent with a dark C-type carbonaceous asteroid taxonomic classification, which is a class more commonly found in the outer main belt.

This suggests that the dust emission may have been assisted by rapid spin of the asteroid, which would lower the escape velocity.