SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2012 PB20

2012 PB20

2012 PB20 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.043 AU it takes 1.07 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 88
Orbital Period · P
1.07 yr
v(q)
31.9 km/s
v(Q)
26.7 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.04 km
TJ
5.88
Eccentricity · e
0.0885

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.95 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.135 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.185 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.043 AU gives an orbital period of 1.07 yr, or about 389 days.

With e = 0.088, the orbit is close to circular.

The orbital plane is tilted 5.92° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 31.9 km/s at perihelion and falls to 26.7 km/s at aphelion.

Because q < 1 AU and Q > 1 AU, this orbit geometrically intersects the region of Earth's orbit.

Size and surface

No direct size measurement is available; from an absolute magnitude of H = 24.79 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.04 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 88 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.3676 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 0 means the orbit is very well determined, leaving only a small uncertainty in the future ephemeris.

About these computed values

Orbital periods, perihelion and aphelion speeds, and diameter estimates on this page are computed by SpaceAtlas from the JPL SBDB orbital elements. They are derived quantities, not values copied from the source catalogue.

Orbital Parameters

Semi-Major Axis
1.043 AU
Eccentricity
0.0885
Perihelion
0.95 AU
Aphelion
1.135305 AU
Inclination
5.92°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
40.81°

Orbit diagram

The Sun sits at the focus (orange). Earth's orbit is the grey circle at 1 AU. The red dot marks the object's position at the catalog epoch.

3D orbit (interactive)

Drag to rotate; scroll or pinch to zoom. The Sun is at the focus (orange), Earth's orbit is the grey ring at 1 AU, and the red dot marks the object's current position.

Close approaches

Predicted close approaches to Earth, from NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS).

Date (UTC)Miss distanceVelocity
2041-Jan-30 02:43 0.181631 AU
27171661 km
8.59 km/s
2041-Nov-08 05:58 0.170300 AU
25476477 km
3.09 km/s
2042-Jul-19 23:09 0.064501 AU
9649254 km
4.47 km/s
2057-Dec-05 09:32 0.158897 AU
23770678 km
2.71 km/s
2058-Jul-26 02:04 0.058799 AU
8796134 km
3.73 km/s
2073-Dec-22 02:57 0.148346 AU
22192238 km
2.66 km/s
2074-Jul-29 19:08 0.065706 AU
9829530 km
3.59 km/s

Distances in astronomical units (AU) and kilometres. Source: NASA/JPL CNEOS Close Approach Data API.

Physical Parameters

Diameter
— km
Albedo
—
Density
— g/cm³
Rotation Period
— h
Absolute Magnitude
24.79

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.36757
Condition
0
Orbit ID
—
Data source: NASA JPL Small-Body Database · NASA CNEOS. Orbital periods, perihelion and aphelion speeds, and diameter estimates on this page are computed by SpaceAtlas from the JPL SBDB orbital elements. They are derived quantities, not values copied from the source catalogue.

Keep exploring

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