Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 10,252,119 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2020 CX1 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2020 CX1 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 CX1 orbits the sun every 367 days (1.00 years), coming as close as 0.84 AU and reaching as far as 1.17 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2020 CX1 is probably between 0.026 to 0.117 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2020 CX1'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 CX1 has 30 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Feb. 19, 2019 10,252,119 7.377
Feb. 19, 2020 5,395,301 7.867
Feb. 18, 2021 1,879,790 8.272
Feb. 18, 2022 2,755,993 8.168
Feb. 19, 2023 6,644,938 7.730
Feb. 20, 2024 11,681,936 7.255
Feb. 20, 2025 17,238,272 6.889
Feb. 19, 2026 23,199,274 6.675
Feb. 14, 2027 29,327,952 6.657
Aug. 2, 2034 27,136,146 6.768
Aug. 12, 2035 21,698,961 6.819
Aug. 17, 2036 16,342,035 7.026
Aug. 21, 2037 11,271,666 7.402
Aug. 24, 2038 7,088,431 7.859
Aug. 27, 2039 4,882,930 8.354
Aug. 28, 2040 5,871,345 8.873
Aug. 30, 2041 9,996,118 9.625
Sept. 2, 2042 15,741,562 10.545
Sept. 5, 2043 22,273,701 11.635
Sept. 6, 2044 29,268,712 12.830
Feb. 12, 2145 24,791,669 12.294
Feb. 14, 2146 17,627,532 11.081
Feb. 16, 2147 10,939,270 10.029
Feb. 18, 2148 5,154,233 9.190
Feb. 18, 2149 1,391,992 8.688
Feb. 17, 2150 4,434,541 9.091
Feb. 16, 2151 9,663,903 9.838
Feb. 15, 2152 15,878,574 10.795
Feb. 13, 2153 22,679,694 11.939
Feb. 11, 2154 29,731,829 13.163

Images and Observations

2020 CX1's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 6, 2018. It was last officially observed on Feb. 19, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 206 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2020 CX1 can be reached with a journey of 378 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 10.217 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 21,704 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2020 CX1.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2020 CX1:

References

Search

   or view a random object

Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.004 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1631
  • Inclination: 12.73°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 329.0°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 273.56°
  • Mean Anomaly: 125.31°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.072 km
  • Magnitude: 24.12

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 367 days (1.00 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 29.76 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.17 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.84 AU

Map Comparison

Click to load map

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2020 CX1 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 CX1 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.