SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2020 FC4

2020 FC4

2020 FC4 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 2.04 AU it takes 2.91 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 40
Orbital Period · P
2.91 yr
v(q)
41.9 km/s
v(Q)
10.4 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.09 km
TJ
3.55
Eccentricity · e
0.6025

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.811 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 3.269 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 2.458 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 2.04 AU gives an orbital period of 2.91 yr, or about 1,064 days.

The high eccentricity (0.603) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

The orbital plane is tilted 5.45° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 41.9 km/s at perihelion and falls to 10.4 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 = 23.06 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.09 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 40 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.3718 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
2.04 AU
Eccentricity
0.6025
Perihelion
0.811 AU
Aphelion
3.2691 AU
Inclination
5.45°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
68.54°

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
2055-Mar-10 17:13 0.128743 AU
19259732 km
16.15 km/s
2057-Dec-23 02:58 0.155199 AU
23217488 km
11.44 km/s
2060-Oct-25 06:19 0.228229 AU
34142509 km
20.22 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
23.06

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.37181
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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