SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2020 XW

2020 XW

2020 XW belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.514 AU it takes 1.86 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 62
Orbital Period · P
1.86 yr
v(q)
34.6 km/s
v(Q)
16.9 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.04 km
TJ
4.45
Eccentricity · e
0.3422

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.996 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.032 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 1.036 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.514 AU gives an orbital period of 1.86 yr, or about 680 days.

An eccentricity of 0.342 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

Its inclination of 1.74° keeps it close to the plane of the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 34.6 km/s at perihelion and falls to 16.9 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 = 24.8 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 62 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.2607 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
1.514 AU
Eccentricity
0.3422
Perihelion
0.996 AU
Aphelion
2.032091 AU
Inclination
1.74°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
350.79°

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
2033-Sep-07 16:50 0.368202 AU
55082234 km
2.81 km/s
2034-Jan-04 09:47 0.233310 AU
34902739 km
13.17 km/s
2035-Sep-16 05:10 0.459375 AU
68721508 km
19.81 km/s
2048-Oct-01 16:17 0.223150 AU
33382806 km
11.90 km/s
2049-Jan-22 05:06 0.367299 AU
54947162 km
2.23 km/s
2061-Nov-02 17:05 0.008961 AU
1340607 km
4.95 km/s
2074-Oct-02 22:34 0.137251 AU
20532429 km
11.76 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
24.8

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.26074
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.