SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2020 CD

2020 CD

2020 CD belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.233 AU it takes 1.37 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 20
Orbital Period · P
1.37 yr
v(q)
34.1 km/s
v(Q)
21.1 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.01 km
TJ
5.17
Eccentricity · e
0.2345

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.944 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.522 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.578 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.233 AU gives an orbital period of 1.37 yr, or about 500 days.

An eccentricity of 0.234 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

Its inclination of 2.65° keeps it close to the plane of the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 34.1 km/s at perihelion and falls to 21.1 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 = 28.3 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.01 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 20 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.5546 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
1.233 AU
Eccentricity
0.2345
Perihelion
0.944 AU
Aphelion
1.522139 AU
Inclination
2.65°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
262.57°

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
2027-May-18 23:28 0.480347 AU
71858881 km
7.94 km/s
2035-Feb-19 00:10 0.229866 AU
34387525 km
16.74 km/s
2041-Sep-25 08:27 0.267781 AU
40059506 km
17.53 km/s
2049-Jul-01 02:24 0.465817 AU
69685254 km
7.98 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
28.3

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.55464
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.