SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2020 MT

2020 MT

2020 MT belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 2.246 AU it takes 3.37 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 15
Orbital Period · P
3.37 yr
v(q)
37.2 km/s
v(Q)
10.6 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.02 km
TJ
3.41
Eccentricity · e
0.5552

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.999 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 3.493 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 2.494 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 2.246 AU gives an orbital period of 3.37 yr, or about 1,229 days.

The high eccentricity (0.555) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

Its inclination of 2.65° 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 10.6 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 = 26.1 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 15 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.4408 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 8 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
2.246 AU
Eccentricity
0.5552
Perihelion
0.999 AU
Aphelion
3.492979 AU
Inclination
2.65°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2459020.5
Mean Anomaly
6.99°

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

No close approaches to Earth are currently on record for this object.

Physical Parameters

Diameter
— km
Albedo
—
Density
— g/cm³
Rotation Period
— h
Absolute Magnitude
26.1

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.44081
Condition
8
Orbit ID
—
Data source: NASA JPL Small-Body Database . 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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