2020 HL4

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2020 HL4

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 13,422,168 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2020 HL4 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2020 HL4 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 HL4 orbits the sun every 259 days (0.71 years), coming as close as 0.48 AU and reaching as far as 1.11 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2020 HL4 is probably between 0.032 to 0.071 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2020 HL4's orbit is 0.06 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 HL4 has 32 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 25, 2020 13,422,168 8.022
May 29, 2025 11,330,340 8.236
June 10, 2030 16,942,609 12.165
April 5, 2037 11,735,064 10.842
June 10, 2052 16,981,502 12.156
April 6, 2059 11,795,059 10.887
April 24, 2064 13,149,490 8.022
May 28, 2069 12,021,092 8.139
June 11, 2074 15,215,241 11.689
April 5, 2081 13,942,816 11.505
April 19, 2086 11,605,074 8.130
May 22, 2091 13,574,479 8.026
June 10, 2096 11,604,793 10.611
April 7, 2103 19,087,456 12.798
April 16, 2108 9,956,015 8.349
May 18, 2113 14,310,105 7.998
June 11, 2118 10,652,258 10.234
April 7, 2125 19,740,186 12.971
April 15, 2130 9,468,420 8.438
May 18, 2135 14,382,721 7.993
June 10, 2140 10,155,680 9.950
April 8, 2147 21,938,891 13.508
April 12, 2152 8,296,063 8.742
May 12, 2157 14,872,223 7.996
June 8, 2162 9,562,743 9.118
June 12, 2167 24,081,582 13.836
April 9, 2169 29,598,705 15.257
April 9, 2174 8,387,474 9.948
April 29, 2179 13,662,864 8.003
May 29, 2184 12,443,518 8.145
June 12, 2189 14,225,121 11.304
April 7, 2196 17,974,847 12.616

Images and Observations

2020 HL4's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 20, 2020. It was last officially observed on May 13, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 42 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 HL4:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.7956 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3928
  • Inclination: 6.4°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 46.79°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 2.06°
  • Mean Anomaly: 69.95°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.041 km
  • Magnitude: 24.6

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 259 days (0.71 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 33.42 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.11 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.48 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2020 HL4 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 HL4 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.