SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2020 NS

2020 NS

2020 NS is an Amor-type near-Earth asteroid that approaches Earth from beyond our orbit without crossing it, orbiting the Sun at 1.307 AU once every 1.49 yr.

Amor Observations: 48
Orbital Period · P
1.49 yr
v(q)
32 km/s
v(Q)
21.2 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.09 km
TJ
4.83
Eccentricity · e
0.204

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 1.041 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.574 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.533 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.307 AU gives an orbital period of 1.49 yr, or about 546 days.

An eccentricity of 0.204 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

A steep inclination of 30.29° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 32 km/s at perihelion and falls to 21.2 km/s at aphelion.

Its perihelion lies just outside Earth's orbit, which is why it is classed as Earth-approaching rather than Earth-crossing.

Size and surface

No direct size measurement is available; from an absolute magnitude of H = 22.92 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 48 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.6134 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
1.307 AU
Eccentricity
0.204
Perihelion
1.041 AU
Aphelion
1.573628 AU
Inclination
30.29°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
300.17°

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
2026-Dec-28 22:30 0.371083 AU
55513218 km
15.96 km/s
2029-Jul-15 09:14 0.255589 AU
38235567 km
18.59 km/s
2029-Dec-30 16:05 0.365844 AU
54729468 km
15.77 km/s
2032-Jul-13 07:06 0.321519 AU
48098580 km
19.75 km/s
2033-Jan-01 13:07 0.368277 AU
55093493 km
15.64 km/s
2035-Jul-12 00:48 0.390695 AU
58447083 km
21.05 km/s
2036-Jan-04 13:28 0.377556 AU
56481615 km
15.55 km/s
2038-Jul-09 13:01 0.463333 AU
69313654 km
22.51 km/s
2039-Jan-06 17:50 0.393833 AU
58916613 km
15.49 km/s
2042-Jan-09 01:34 0.415477 AU
62154505 km
15.47 km/s
2045-Jan-11 12:39 0.441793 AU
66091325 km
15.49 km/s
2048-Jan-15 02:10 0.471245 AU
70497282 km
15.51 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
22.92

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.61338
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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