2019 GJ20

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2019 GJ20

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 16,954,343 km of Earth in 2026
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2019 GJ20 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2019 GJ20 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.

2019 GJ20 orbits the sun every 372 days (1.02 years), coming as close as 0.39 AU and reaching as far as 1.63 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2019 GJ20 is probably between 0.154 to 0.344 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2019 GJ20's orbit is 0.05 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

2019 GJ20 has 17 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
March 3, 2026 16,954,343 16.819
March 6, 2027 8,152,523 19.945
March 9, 2028 20,358,113 23.330
June 21, 2058 28,326,908 19.959
March 3, 2078 28,554,845 14.885
March 4, 2079 13,089,896 17.621
March 6, 2080 10,070,498 20.847
March 11, 2081 24,802,176 24.328
June 24, 2111 28,267,531 18.782
March 4, 2131 21,513,408 15.987
March 6, 2132 8,222,442 18.976
March 9, 2133 15,650,216 22.324
June 22, 2163 29,306,282 21.014
June 25, 2164 29,355,002 17.668
March 4, 2184 17,902,838 16.603
March 7, 2185 7,416,103 19.764
March 11, 2186 19,377,858 23.167

Images and Observations

2019 GJ20's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 3, 2019. It was last officially observed on April 16, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 99 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 2019 GJ20:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.013 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6132
  • Inclination: 10.67°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 180.66°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 216.56°
  • Mean Anomaly: 265.15°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.198 km
  • Magnitude: 21.19

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 372 days (1.02 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 29.62 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.63 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.39 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2019 GJ20 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 2019 GJ20 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.