2020 FN3

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2020 FN3

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 5,604,818 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2020 FN3 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2020 FN3 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 FN3 orbits the sun every 372 days (1.02 years), coming as close as 0.80 AU and reaching as far as 1.22 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2020 FN3 is probably between 0.023 to 0.103 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2020 FN3'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 FN3 has 31 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 1, 2019 5,604,818 7.899
April 4, 2020 12,456,243 4.306
Feb. 26, 2021 26,626,690 4.928
May 25, 2021 26,006,062 5.584
Aug. 12, 2024 29,401,363 6.508
Sept. 15, 2025 21,758,803 4.469
Nov. 10, 2025 21,701,310 4.232
Oct. 20, 2026 4,733,072 5.832
Oct. 24, 2027 11,120,760 8.975
Oct. 28, 2028 27,916,615 12.381
March 25, 2073 28,734,379 12.521
March 30, 2074 11,928,760 9.137
April 3, 2075 4,082,839 5.964
March 12, 2076 21,516,243 4.186
May 6, 2076 21,573,321 4.390
June 11, 2077 29,512,218 6.533
Sept. 2, 2080 24,762,591 5.285
Nov. 20, 2080 25,178,641 4.740
Oct. 18, 2081 9,068,074 4.960
Oct. 23, 2082 8,890,448 8.544
Oct. 28, 2083 27,690,797 12.321
March 27, 2124 22,822,795 11.325
April 2, 2125 4,247,440 7.614
April 5, 2126 11,596,935 4.464
March 3, 2127 25,154,727 4.740
May 21, 2127 24,881,362 5.260
Aug. 27, 2131 26,945,334 5.814
Nov. 30, 2131 27,616,285 5.120
Oct. 25, 2132 16,457,461 3.705
Oct. 22, 2133 591,383 6.738
Oct. 22, 2134 390,531 6.958

Images and Observations

2020 FN3's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 22, 2020. It was last officially observed on Jan. 25, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 50 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2020 FN3 can be reached with a journey of 394 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 6.431 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 654,744 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2020 FN3.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2020 FN3:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.013 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2079
  • Inclination: 0.9°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 20.71°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 269.93°
  • Mean Anomaly: 58.0°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.063 km
  • Magnitude: 24.38

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 372 days (1.02 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 29.62 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.22 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.80 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2020 FN3 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 FN3 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.