2020 BC6

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2020 BC6

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 3,683,426 km of Earth in 2025
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2020 BC6 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2020 BC6 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2020 BC6 orbits the sun every 927 days (2.54 years), coming as close as 0.54 AU and reaching as far as 3.18 AU from the sun. Its orbit is highly elliptical. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2020 BC6 is probably between 0.186 to 0.415 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2020 BC6's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2020 BC6 has 10 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 5, 2025 3,683,426 22.183
Dec. 28, 2057 22,537,812 17.752
June 24, 2075 4,712,096 23.064
Jan. 16, 2101 25,087,020 27.128
June 26, 2118 1,818,960 22.303
Jan. 10, 2149 8,564,659 23.476
June 20, 2166 20,978,826 26.199
July 10, 2171 29,898,793 16.393
Dec. 28, 2191 27,484,084 16.834
Jan. 16, 2197 23,686,776 26.714

Images and Observations

2020 BC6's orbit is determined by observations dating back to May 5, 2014. It was last officially observed on Feb. 22, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 72 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 2020 BC6:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.86 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.7097
  • Inclination: 6.3°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 272.47°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 98.44°
  • Mean Anomaly: 191.08°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.240 km
  • Magnitude: 20.78

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 927 days (2.54 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 21.83 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.18 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.54 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2020 BC6 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 2020 BC6 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.