SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2020 SF4

2020 SF4

2020 SF4 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.25 AU it takes 1.40 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 21
Orbital Period · P
1.40 yr
v(q)
35.8 km/s
v(Q)
19.8 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.02 km
TJ
5.1
Eccentricity · e
0.2871

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.891 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.609 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.718 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.25 AU gives an orbital period of 1.40 yr, or about 510 days.

An eccentricity of 0.287 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

Its inclination of 2.11° keeps it close to the plane of the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 35.8 km/s at perihelion and falls to 19.8 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 = 26.37 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 21 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.5418 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
1.25 AU
Eccentricity
0.2871
Perihelion
0.891 AU
Aphelion
1.608875 AU
Inclination
2.11°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
72.87°

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-Mar-24 07:41 0.324238 AU
48505349 km
5.92 km/s
2076-Apr-10 06:00 0.257052 AU
38454461 km
21.88 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
26.37

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.54177
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

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