SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2020 AM3

2020 AM3

2020 AM3 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.239 AU it takes 1.38 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 51
Orbital Period · P
1.38 yr
v(q)
49.2 km/s
v(Q)
14.6 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.04 km
TJ
5.01
Eccentricity · e
0.5431

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.566 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.912 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 1.346 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.239 AU gives an orbital period of 1.38 yr, or about 504 days.

The high eccentricity (0.543) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

The orbital plane is tilted 8.71° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 49.2 km/s at perihelion and falls to 14.6 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 = 25 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 51 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.3887 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 7 signals a poorly constrained orbit, so its future path should be treated as provisional.

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
1.239 AU
Eccentricity
0.5431
Perihelion
0.566 AU
Aphelion
1.911901 AU
Inclination
8.71°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
188.32°

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
2028-Aug-16 18:07 0.051531 AU
7708857 km
18.55 km/s
2057-Jul-31 05:46 0.233623 AU
34949525 km
11.41 km/s
2060-Jan-15 08:36 0.018690 AU
2795948 km
20.06 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
25.0

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.3887
Condition
7
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.

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