Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 23,421,904 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2020 KK5 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2020 KK5 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2020 KK5 orbits the sun every 329 days (0.90 years), coming as close as 0.34 AU and reaching as far as 1.52 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2020 KK5 is probably between 0.109 to 0.244 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2020 KK5's orbit is 0.04 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 KK5 has 5 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 18, 2021 23,421,904 24.655
June 18, 2030 23,501,059 24.688
June 18, 2039 24,698,333 24.938
June 17, 2048 26,980,614 25.402
June 17, 2057 29,579,732 25.948

Images and Observations

2020 KK5's orbit is determined by observations dating back to May 25, 2019. It was last officially observed on May 8, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 46 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 KK5:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9322 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6338
  • Inclination: 15.15°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 83.26°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 325.06°
  • Mean Anomaly: 116.01°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.141 km
  • Magnitude: 21.93

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 329 days (0.90 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 30.83 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.52 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.34 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2020 KK5 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 KK5 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.