SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2020 BO12

2020 BO12

2020 BO12 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: 26
Orbital Period · P
1.38 yr
v(q)
38.5 km/s
v(Q)
18.6 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.12 km
TJ
4.99
Eccentricity · e
0.3489

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.807 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.671 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.864 AU.

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

An eccentricity of 0.349 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

A steep inclination of 30.75° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 38.5 km/s at perihelion and falls to 18.6 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 = 22.3 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.12 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 26 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.7228 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
0.3489
Perihelion
0.807 AU
Aphelion
1.671287 AU
Inclination
30.75°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
301.94°

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
2031-Jan-29 09:58 0.337555 AU
50497537 km
16.64 km/s
2042-Jan-25 21:24 0.339054 AU
50721804 km
18.56 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
22.3

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.72283
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.

Keep exploring

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