2020 BL11 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2020 BL11 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.
2020 BL11 orbits the sun every 359 days (0.98 years), coming as close as 0.98 AU and reaching as far as 1.00 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2020 BL11 is probably between 0.005 to 0.021 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.
2020 BL11'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.
2020 BL11 has 21 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:
Date | Distance from Earth (km) | Velocity (km/s) |
---|---|---|
Jan. 24, 2019 | 7,083,956 | 3.322 |
July 31, 2019 | 3,985,378 | 3.156 |
Jan. 30, 2020 | 1,731,256 | 3.212 |
July 8, 2020 | 12,376,769 | 3.481 |
Feb. 2, 2021 | 8,354,076 | 3.791 |
Feb. 5, 2022 | 21,081,107 | 5.660 |
Sept. 12, 2077 | 29,015,700 | 6.646 |
Aug. 28, 2078 | 16,209,829 | 4.549 |
Jan. 6, 2079 | 19,538,204 | 4.536 |
Aug. 11, 2079 | 6,147,061 | 3.391 |
Jan. 18, 2080 | 10,299,050 | 3.449 |
July 28, 2080 | 3,976,955 | 3.130 |
Jan. 24, 2081 | 4,477,155 | 3.146 |
July 18, 2081 | 8,866,865 | 3.245 |
Jan. 27, 2082 | 1,372,803 | 3.286 |
Jan. 30, 2083 | 18,917,093 | 5.494 |
Aug. 29, 2125 | 16,431,342 | 4.675 |
Aug. 2, 2126 | 4,811,399 | 3.197 |
Jan. 22, 2127 | 6,282,337 | 3.128 |
Jan. 29, 2128 | 8,117,424 | 3.908 |
Jan. 28, 2129 | 26,502,736 | 6.870 |
2020 BL11's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 26, 2020. It was last officially observed on Feb. 2, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 25 observations used to determine its orbit.
2020 BL11 can be reached with a journey of 370 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 4.332 km/s. To put this into perspective, the delta-v to launch a rocket to Low-Earth Orbit is 9.7 km/s. There are 862,964 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.
See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2020 BL11.
The position of 2020 BL11 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.