2016 RJ20

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2016 RJ20

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 6,992,041 km of Earth in 2024
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2016 RJ20 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2016 RJ20 as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.

2016 RJ20 orbits the sun every 325 days (0.89 years), coming as close as 0.44 AU and reaching as far as 1.41 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2016 RJ20 is probably between 0.051 to 0.113 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2016 RJ20's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2016 RJ20 has 25 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Aug. 30, 2024 6,992,041 14.784
Aug. 31, 2032 4,557,909 15.255
Aug. 30, 2040 7,831,563 14.618
Aug. 30, 2048 14,084,813 13.474
Dec. 14, 2050 24,577,690 12.056
Aug. 31, 2056 21,216,239 12.331
Dec. 15, 2058 18,570,982 13.292
Sept. 2, 2064 27,775,251 11.561
Dec. 15, 2066 14,223,362 14.601
Dec. 14, 2074 12,483,555 15.781
Dec. 14, 2082 13,052,390 16.794
Dec. 13, 2090 15,047,420 17.725
Dec. 12, 2098 17,265,606 18.454
Dec. 13, 2106 19,158,711 18.999
Dec. 12, 2114 20,405,679 19.331
Dec. 12, 2122 20,786,277 19.432
Dec. 12, 2130 20,389,260 19.330
Dec. 13, 2138 19,587,914 19.113
Dec. 13, 2146 18,482,749 18.813
Dec. 13, 2154 17,698,003 18.591
Dec. 13, 2162 17,425,681 18.510
Dec. 13, 2170 17,765,199 18.617
Dec. 13, 2178 19,124,976 19.006
Dec. 12, 2186 21,518,832 19.644
Dec. 12, 2194 24,443,244 20.389

Images and Observations

2016 RJ20's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 8, 2016. It was last officially observed on Dec. 9, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 33 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

This asteroid is not considered a viable target for human exploration by the NHATS study.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2016 RJ20:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.925 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5224
  • Inclination: 5.15°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 153.28°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 55.65°
  • Mean Anomaly: 41.68°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.065 km
  • Magnitude: 23.6

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 325 days (0.89 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 30.96 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.41 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.44 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2016 RJ20 is indicated by a ◯ pink circle. Note that the object may not be in your current field of view. Use the controls below to adjust position, location, and time.

Size Rendering

The below comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 2016 RJ20 to create an approximate landscape rendering with New York City in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.