Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 42,744 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2020 HS7 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2020 HS7 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 HS7 orbits the sun every 918 days (2.51 years), coming as close as 0.79 AU and reaching as far as 2.91 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2020 HS7 is probably between 0.004 to 0.009 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

The rotation of 2020 HS7 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 0.00 hours.

Close Approaches

2020 HS7's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is very close to Earth's orbit.

2020 HS7 has 4 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 28, 2020 42,744 15.559
May 20, 2025 22,120,242 11.505
Sept. 3, 2040 16,442,989 12.278
Sept. 18, 2045 14,285,242 17.058

Images and Observations

2020 HS7's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 27, 2020. It was last officially observed on April 28, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 72 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 HS7:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.849 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5712
  • Inclination: 4.73°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 38.53°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 245.69°
  • Mean Anomaly: 105.81°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.005 km
  • Magnitude: 29.1

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 918 days (2.51 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 21.91 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.91 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.79 AU
  • Rotation Period: 0.00 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2020 HS7 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.