SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2020 MK3

2020 MK3

2020 MK3 is an Aten-type near-Earth asteroid whose orbit lies mostly inside that of Earth, with a semi-major axis of 0.809 AU and a period of 0.73 yr.

Aten Observations: 42
Orbital Period · P
0.73 yr
v(q)
48.3 km/s
v(Q)
22.7 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.02 km
TJ
7.17
Eccentricity · e
0.3602

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.517 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.1 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.583 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 0.809 AU gives an orbital period of 0.73 yr, or about 266 days.

An eccentricity of 0.36 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

Its inclination of 2.36° keeps it close to the plane of the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 48.3 km/s at perihelion and falls to 22.7 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 = 25.8 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.02 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 42 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.5731 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
0.8087 AU
Eccentricity
0.3602
Perihelion
0.517 AU
Aphelion
1.099994 AU
Inclination
2.36°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
298.89°

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-Feb-06 12:28 0.359294 AU
53749649 km
10.16 km/s
2028-Jul-02 19:40 0.004966 AU
742872 km
8.78 km/s
2030-Dec-01 21:56 0.469963 AU
70305515 km
18.25 km/s
2033-Apr-24 05:18 0.063224 AU
9458224 km
10.52 km/s
2033-Sep-27 20:53 0.384236 AU
57480959 km
11.26 km/s
2036-Jan-23 23:43 0.389516 AU
58270758 km
12.80 km/s
2036-Jul-03 17:59 0.067630 AU
10117309 km
11.74 km/s
2038-Nov-22 18:27 0.469159 AU
70185251 km
18.11 km/s
2041-Apr-27 03:37 0.035725 AU
5344313 km
8.05 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
25.8

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.57307
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.

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