SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2020 BL8

2020 BL8

2020 BL8 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.318 AU it takes 1.51 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 57
Orbital Period · P
1.51 yr
v(q)
33.3 km/s
v(Q)
20.2 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.03 km
TJ
4.92
Eccentricity · e
0.2441

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.996 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.64 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.644 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.318 AU gives an orbital period of 1.51 yr, or about 553 days.

An eccentricity of 0.244 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

Its inclination of 1.35° keeps it close to the plane of the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 33.3 km/s at perihelion and falls to 20.2 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 = 25.71 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.03 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 57 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.463 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 5 indicates a moderately constrained orbit; predictions decades ahead still carry noticeable uncertainty.

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
1.318 AU
Eccentricity
0.2441
Perihelion
0.996 AU
Aphelion
1.639724 AU
Inclination
1.35°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
69.52°

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-Oct-23 08:31 0.402419 AU
60200985 km
5.73 km/s
2029-Apr-06 06:42 0.427142 AU
63899604 km
16.35 km/s
2031-Oct-09 07:56 0.468951 AU
70154090 km
6.91 km/s
2064-Jun-15 02:50 0.488967 AU
73148465 km
7.12 km/s
2067-Jun-01 22:45 0.427215 AU
63910479 km
6.06 km/s
2069-Dec-19 10:28 0.317825 AU
47545888 km
13.52 km/s
2070-May-15 02:53 0.347742 AU
52021395 km
4.54 km/s
2072-Dec-29 03:30 0.155763 AU
23301886 km
8.60 km/s
2073-Apr-15 12:42 0.243950 AU
36494363 km
1.55 km/s
2076-Jan-17 04:36 0.023676 AU
3541874 km
4.05 km/s
2079-Feb-05 08:38 0.014658 AU
2192870 km
3.16 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
25.71

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.46299
Condition
5
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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