SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2020 DA4

2020 DA4

2020 DA4 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.618 AU it takes 2.06 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 185
Orbital Period · P
2.06 yr
v(q)
37.2 km/s
v(Q)
14.8 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.03 km
TJ
4.22
Eccentricity · e
0.4316

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.92 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.316 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 1.396 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.618 AU gives an orbital period of 2.06 yr, or about 752 days.

The high eccentricity (0.432) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

Its inclination of 0.84° keeps it close to the plane of the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 37.2 km/s at perihelion and falls to 14.8 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 = 25.59 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 185 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.4172 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
1.618 AU
Eccentricity
0.4316
Perihelion
0.92 AU
Aphelion
2.316329 AU
Inclination
0.84°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
0.35°

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
2053-Feb-04 00:25 0.396817 AU
59363004 km
20.98 km/s
2055-Mar-01 17:11 0.028221 AU
4221776 km
9.75 km/s
2057-May-23 15:02 0.041658 AU
6231963 km
7.88 km/s
2059-Jun-25 03:48 0.249296 AU
37294113 km
16.44 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
25.59

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.41719
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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