Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 3,574,483 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2020 FW5 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2020 FW5 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 FW5 orbits the sun every 733 days (2.01 years), coming as close as 0.90 AU and reaching as far as 2.28 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2020 FW5 is probably between 0.019 to 0.043 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2020 FW5's orbit is 0.02 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 FW5 has 12 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
March 28, 2020 3,574,483 13.579
March 31, 2022 4,591,000 12.867
April 4, 2024 11,695,135 11.885
April 11, 2026 19,970,274 11.013
April 21, 2028 28,301,475 10.527
March 20, 2177 26,020,640 17.443
March 24, 2179 14,837,970 15.574
March 28, 2181 6,685,161 14.169
March 31, 2183 3,928,846 13.214
April 4, 2185 9,104,512 12.231
April 10, 2187 17,097,151 11.248
April 18, 2189 25,419,661 10.562

Images and Observations

2020 FW5's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 25, 2020. It was last officially observed on March 30, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 76 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 FW5:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.592 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.433
  • Inclination: 16.31°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 185.67°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 53.2°
  • Mean Anomaly: 241.19°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.025 km
  • Magnitude: 25.72

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 733 days (2.01 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.63 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.28 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.90 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2020 FW5 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.