Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 17,131,368 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2020 DT4 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2020 DT4 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 DT4 orbits the sun every 372 days (1.02 years), coming as close as 0.93 AU and reaching as far as 1.09 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2020 DT4 is probably between 0.014 to 0.062 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2020 DT4's orbit is 0.05 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

2020 DT4 has 12 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
March 26, 2019 17,131,368 6.237
March 11, 2020 10,204,018 4.669
Feb. 15, 2021 15,901,007 4.537
July 30, 2021 17,159,930 4.551
Jan. 14, 2022 22,467,731 4.205
Sept. 3, 2022 8,626,798 4.673
Sept. 25, 2023 13,359,686 5.985
Oct. 7, 2024 28,952,712 8.823
March 28, 2070 26,054,626 7.968
March 22, 2071 12,774,659 5.405
Sept. 30, 2075 17,970,840 6.775
March 28, 2173 26,610,396 8.106

Images and Observations

2020 DT4's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 27, 2020. It was last officially observed on March 15, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 37 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2020 DT4 can be reached with a journey of 362 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 6.088 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 533,075 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2020 DT4.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2020 DT4:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.012 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.0779
  • Inclination: 7.67°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 336.49°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 317.65°
  • Mean Anomaly: 43.99°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.038 km
  • Magnitude: 25.5

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 372 days (1.02 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 29.60 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.09 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.93 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2020 DT4 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 DT4 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.