Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 7,996,834 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2020 CQ2 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2020 CQ2 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 CQ2 orbits the sun every 340 days (0.93 years), coming as close as 0.71 AU and reaching as far as 1.19 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2020 CQ2 is probably between 0.003 to 0.015 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2020 CQ2's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is very close to Earth's orbit.

2020 CQ2 has 19 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Feb. 15, 2019 7,996,834 9.244
Feb. 14, 2020 148,129 7.991
June 23, 2022 22,248,571 11.432
Feb. 16, 2033 16,427,398 10.896
June 28, 2035 11,060,292 8.434
Feb. 18, 2045 14,150,873 10.240
Feb. 20, 2056 21,429,856 11.693
Feb. 22, 2067 28,863,187 13.192
June 21, 2069 26,294,573 12.055
April 5, 2079 27,536,087 5.876
June 23, 2080 19,222,484 10.482
March 15, 2090 22,499,881 5.456
June 29, 2091 10,226,024 7.167
Feb. 16, 2102 8,089,885 6.230
Feb. 27, 2115 17,860,088 5.283
June 9, 2116 23,389,441 4.789
July 20, 2116 24,244,527 4.315
July 1, 2129 16,600,159 5.079
July 1, 2142 11,079,163 6.582

Images and Observations

2020 CQ2's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 15, 2020. It was last officially observed on Feb. 18, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 88 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2020 CQ2 can be reached with a journey of 378 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 8.052 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 94,330 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2020 CQ2.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2020 CQ2:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9527 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2532
  • Inclination: 5.03°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 144.53°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 247.48°
  • Mean Anomaly: 29.01°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.009 km
  • Magnitude: 28.6

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 340 days (0.93 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 30.48 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.19 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.71 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2020 CQ2 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.