Classified as a near-Earth asteroid and potentially hazardous object of the Apollo group, 2017 YE5 was discovered by amateur astronomer Claudine Rinner at the Oukaïmeden Observatory on 21 December 2017.

[10] The discovery formed part of the Morocco Oukaïmeden Sky Survey (MOSS) directed by Zouhair Benkhaldoun at the Cadi Ayyad University.

The MOSS survey was designed for searching and characterizing the orbits of small Solar System bodies such as near-Earth asteroids and comets.

[11] As the sixth near-Earth asteroid discovered by the MOSS survey,[12] 2017 YE5 was found in images taken by the Oukaïmeden Observatory's 0.5-meter reflecting telescope, which was remotely operated by Rinner.

[13][a] The discovery of 2017 YE5 was subsequently reported to the Minor Planet Center's Near-Earth Object Confirmation Page (NEOCP), where a preliminary orbit was calculated from additional observations conducted at multiple observatories.

[18] Additional evidence for its cometary origin was found by optical and infrared spectroscopy in 2018, which revealed a reddish and low-albedo surface, consistent with the D-type spectral classification.

[5] 2017 YE5 was removed from the JPL Sentry Risk Table on 6 January 2018, after extensive observations and refinements of its orbit ruled out future possibilities of Earth impacts.

[5] During the encounter, 2017 YE5 approached Earth at a rate of 15.5 km/s (35,000 mph) and its apparent visual brightness peaked around magnitude 15, too faint to be seen with the naked eye.

[10][25] Optical observations of 2017 YE5 continued after the June 2018 encounter and detected possible mutual events or eclipses occurring between the components of the binary system.

Additional radar observations by the Arecibo and Green Bank observatories resolved the 2017 YE5 system in high resolution, confirming that the two components were indeed separate objects.

[7] From their mutual orbit and measured diameters, both components are calculated to have low bulk densities less than 1 g/cm3, indicating a significant macroporosity of their internal structures.

Given their measured diameters and absolute magnitudes, the optical albedos of their surfaces are calculated to be as dark as charcoal, reflecting less than 3% of incident light.

Light curve measurements of 2017 YE5 taken between June and August 2018 show a secondary period of 14.88 hours and radar images suggest that the obliquities of the components are misaligned by a few degrees.