SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2020 RW

2020 RW

2020 RW 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: 119
Orbital Period · P
1.26 yr
v(q)
31.8 km/s
v(Q)
23.9 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.04 km
TJ
5.36
Eccentricity · e
0.1419

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 1.003 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.335 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.332 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 0.142 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

The orbital plane is tilted 15.3° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 31.8 km/s at perihelion and falls to 23.9 km/s at aphelion.

Size and surface

No direct size measurement is available; from an absolute magnitude of H = 24.7 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.04 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 119 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.3616 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
1.169 AU
Eccentricity
0.1419
Perihelion
1.003 AU
Aphelion
1.334881 AU
Inclination
15.3°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
158.75°

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
2030-Apr-24 14:30 0.405907 AU
60722760 km
7.65 km/s
2035-Mar-20 06:55 0.311740 AU
46635617 km
8.83 km/s
2039-Sep-03 22:40 0.128523 AU
19226838 km
11.91 km/s
2040-Feb-18 08:33 0.239474 AU
35824871 km
8.52 km/s
2044-Sep-13 14:53 0.100704 AU
15065050 km
8.08 km/s
2058-Aug-26 12:23 0.282166 AU
42211458 km
16.58 km/s
2063-Sep-09 20:44 0.049286 AU
7373089 km
9.04 km/s
2068-Sep-12 09:28 0.166012 AU
24835077 km
9.29 km/s
2078-Mar-29 14:00 0.340658 AU
50961653 km
8.69 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
24.7

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.36161
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.

Keep exploring

Explore asteroids, comets and near-Earth objects with JPL orbital data.