2020 FW6

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2020 FW6

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 27,128,126 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2020 FW6 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2020 FW6 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 FW6 orbits the sun every 548 days (1.50 years), coming as close as 0.92 AU and reaching as far as 1.70 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2020 FW6 is probably between 0.060 to 0.135 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2020 FW6's orbit is 0.14 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 FW6 has 32 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 16, 2020 27,128,126 14.534
April 17, 2023 27,977,996 14.351
April 17, 2026 28,943,917 14.183
April 16, 2029 29,909,462 14.044
Sept. 28, 2062 29,131,793 13.739
Sept. 28, 2065 28,356,121 13.808
Sept. 27, 2068 27,616,172 13.873
Sept. 28, 2071 26,935,036 13.939
Sept. 28, 2074 26,257,020 14.005
Sept. 28, 2077 25,782,932 14.055
Sept. 27, 2080 25,279,910 14.105
Sept. 28, 2083 24,842,237 14.157
Sept. 28, 2086 24,344,391 14.217
Sept. 28, 2089 24,030,186 14.263
Sept. 28, 2092 23,665,149 14.316
Sept. 28, 2095 23,354,205 14.370
Sept. 28, 2098 22,944,584 14.434
Sept. 29, 2101 22,705,919 14.479
Sept. 29, 2104 22,383,601 14.533
Sept. 29, 2107 22,113,077 14.588
Sept. 29, 2110 21,727,202 14.663
Sept. 29, 2113 21,469,001 14.730
Sept. 29, 2116 21,144,437 14.820
Sept. 30, 2119 20,882,057 14.922
Sept. 29, 2122 20,555,846 15.064
Sept. 29, 2125 20,403,441 15.209
Sept. 29, 2128 20,318,725 15.399
Sept. 30, 2131 20,493,058 15.621
Sept. 30, 2134 21,030,304 15.921
Sept. 30, 2137 22,130,741 16.274
Oct. 1, 2140 23,984,031 16.732
Oct. 2, 2143 26,711,552 17.286

Images and Observations

2020 FW6's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 13, 2011. It was last officially observed on April 24, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 87 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 FW6:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.311 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2986
  • Inclination: 25.55°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 194.86°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 94.16°
  • Mean Anomaly: 45.76°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.078 km
  • Magnitude: 23.22

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 548 days (1.50 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.03 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.70 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.92 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2020 FW6 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 FW6 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.