SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2020 BD15

2020 BD15

2020 BD15 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.66 AU it takes 2.14 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 51
Orbital Period · P
2.14 yr
v(q)
42.8 km/s
v(Q)
12.5 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.1 km
TJ
4.07
Eccentricity · e
0.5476

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.751 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.569 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 1.818 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.66 AU gives an orbital period of 2.14 yr, or about 781 days.

The high eccentricity (0.548) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

The orbital plane is tilted 6.82° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 42.8 km/s at perihelion and falls to 12.5 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 = 22.72 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.1 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 51 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.5032 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 1 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
1.66 AU
Eccentricity
0.5476
Perihelion
0.751 AU
Aphelion
2.569016 AU
Inclination
6.82°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
310.73°

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
2035-Feb-26 14:59 0.074082 AU
11082495 km
17.43 km/s
2037-Jul-16 13:03 0.170658 AU
25530018 km
11.18 km/s
2050-Feb-12 19:26 0.325623 AU
48712441 km
24.97 km/s
2052-May-25 23:21 0.274995 AU
41138732 km
13.26 km/s
2054-Aug-25 23:16 0.451621 AU
67561520 km
28.22 km/s
2067-Apr-21 10:50 0.245950 AU
36793641 km
12.72 km/s
2069-Aug-15 01:35 0.242284 AU
36245152 km
21.85 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
22.72

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.5032
Condition
1
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

Explore asteroids, comets and near-Earth objects with JPL orbital data.