Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 19,253,258 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2020 DY1 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2020 DY1 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2020 DY1 orbits the sun every 1,480 days (4.05 years), coming as close as 0.94 AU and reaching as far as 4.14 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2020 DY1 is probably between 0.111 to 0.248 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2020 DY1's orbit is 0.01 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 DY1 has 11 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
March 4, 2020 19,253,258 14.793
May 1, 2024 10,182,109 9.705
June 12, 2028 18,231,732 15.021
May 12, 2076 20,307,740 11.610
Feb. 23, 2080 13,970,708 16.725
March 10, 2111 14,471,588 12.877
June 20, 2134 6,879,381 14.331
March 6, 2161 11,210,649 13.406
July 5, 2188 29,657,309 20.565
April 25, 2192 22,347,352 11.794
Feb. 18, 2196 28,374,425 19.803

Images and Observations

2020 DY1's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 23, 2020. It was last officially observed on June 29, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 56 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 DY1:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.54 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6311
  • Inclination: 1.32°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 279.36°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 291.14°
  • Mean Anomaly: 305.68°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.143 km
  • Magnitude: 21.9

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,480 days (4.05 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 18.67 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 4.14 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.94 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2020 DY1 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 DY1 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.