Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 18,202,951 km of Earth in 2022
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2020 BP13 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2020 BP13 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2020 BP13 orbits the sun every 719 days (1.97 years), coming as close as 1.02 AU and reaching as far as 2.13 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2020 BP13 is probably between 0.153 to 0.342 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2020 BP13'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 BP13 has 7 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 16, 2022 18,202,951 8.631
April 9, 2024 5,813,696 6.804
April 28, 2075 5,206,057 6.746
March 23, 2077 19,580,718 8.937
May 26, 2132 27,143,393 10.291
April 23, 2134 2,166,669 6.586
March 27, 2136 16,264,779 8.420

Images and Observations

2020 BP13's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 18, 2015. It was last officially observed on July 21, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 236 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 BP13:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.571 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3536
  • Inclination: 8.12°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 209.06°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 357.19°
  • Mean Anomaly: 252.97°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.197 km
  • Magnitude: 21.2

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 719 days (1.97 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.77 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.13 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.02 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2020 BP13 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 BP13 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.