SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2020 MX3

2020 MX3

2020 MX3 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.169 AU it takes 1.26 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 166
Orbital Period · P
1.26 yr
v(q)
35.8 km/s
v(Q)
21.2 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.07 km
TJ
5.36
Eccentricity · e
0.2579

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.868 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.47 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.602 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.169 AU gives an orbital period of 1.26 yr, or about 462 days.

An eccentricity of 0.258 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

The orbital plane is tilted 8.22° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 35.8 km/s at perihelion and falls to 21.2 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 = 23.68 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.07 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 166 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.3287 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
1.169 AU
Eccentricity
0.2579
Perihelion
0.868 AU
Aphelion
1.470485 AU
Inclination
8.22°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
179.98°

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
2044-Aug-14 10:55 0.115351 AU
17256251 km
5.68 km/s
2049-Dec-28 01:45 0.067770 AU
10138186 km
7.98 km/s
2063-Jul-28 03:25 0.057016 AU
8529423 km
9.55 km/s
2068-Oct-20 11:20 0.184809 AU
27647064 km
5.98 km/s
2074-Jan-02 08:52 0.138784 AU
20761847 km
11.47 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
23.68

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.32872
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.

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