Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 1,139,132 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2020 DO3 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2020 DO3 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 DO3 orbits the sun every 266 days (0.73 years), coming as close as 0.35 AU and reaching as far as 1.26 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2020 DO3 is probably between 0.008 to 0.019 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2020 DO3'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 DO3 has 13 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Feb. 23, 2020 1,139,132 15.735
May 9, 2026 17,469,680 16.404
Feb. 24, 2028 4,303,696 16.769
May 9, 2034 18,132,057 14.636
Feb. 25, 2036 15,067,491 19.010
May 7, 2042 23,788,500 12.916
Feb. 28, 2044 27,766,869 21.750
March 4, 2055 27,041,457 12.303
Feb. 26, 2063 17,455,715 13.022
May 8, 2069 23,005,194 18.922
Feb. 23, 2071 6,386,745 14.709
May 9, 2077 18,358,695 17.046
Feb. 23, 2079 1,566,723 16.219

Images and Observations

2020 DO3's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 26, 2020. It was last officially observed on Feb. 27, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 21 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 DO3:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8092 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.562
  • Inclination: 6.81°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 156.01°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 216.61°
  • Mean Anomaly: 41.23°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.011 km
  • Magnitude: 27.5

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 266 days (0.73 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 33.10 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.26 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.35 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2020 DO3 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.