SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2020 XC4

2020 XC4

2020 XC4 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.191 AU it takes 1.30 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 72
Orbital Period · P
1.30 yr
v(q)
32.5 km/s
v(Q)
22.9 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.02 km
TJ
5.31
Eccentricity · e
0.1726

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.985 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.397 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.412 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.191 AU gives an orbital period of 1.30 yr, or about 475 days.

An eccentricity of 0.173 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

The orbital plane is tilted 6.53° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 32.5 km/s at perihelion and falls to 22.9 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 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 72 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.4744 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 5 indicates a moderately constrained orbit; predictions decades ahead still carry noticeable uncertainty.

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
1.191 AU
Eccentricity
0.1726
Perihelion
0.985 AU
Aphelion
1.396567 AU
Inclination
6.53°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
91.31°

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
2029-Jun-20 17:31 0.359469 AU
53775815 km
6.71 km/s
2033-Dec-05 04:19 0.010080 AU
1507932 km
4.24 km/s
2038-May-11 15:06 0.374026 AU
55953474 km
6.85 km/s
2043-Jan-07 04:56 0.106243 AU
15893709 km
10.41 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
26.0

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.47437
Condition
5
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

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