2020 OC is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2020 OC 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 OC orbits the sun every 458 days (1.25 years), coming as close as 0.96 AU and reaching as far as 1.37 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2020 OC is probably between 0.008 to 0.037 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.
2020 OC's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.
2020 OC has 16 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:
| Date | Distance from Earth (km) | Velocity (km/s) |
|---|---|---|
| July 13, 2020 | 1,366,536 | 4.988 |
| July 21, 2025 | 10,458,781 | 6.819 |
| July 29, 2030 | 29,347,642 | 10.435 |
| March 17, 2064 | 22,002,793 | 8.555 |
| March 27, 2069 | 9,715,464 | 4.938 |
| May 3, 2074 | 11,914,694 | 3.691 |
| March 2, 2079 | 25,756,506 | 2.484 |
| June 18, 2079 | 9,194,085 | 3.786 |
| July 8, 2084 | 3,550,220 | 4.345 |
| March 3, 2089 | 25,118,119 | 2.342 |
| June 14, 2089 | 9,835,043 | 3.772 |
| April 30, 2094 | 12,096,644 | 3.673 |
| March 25, 2099 | 9,719,255 | 4.837 |
| March 16, 2104 | 20,871,317 | 8.288 |
| July 26, 2140 | 18,319,656 | 8.310 |
| July 16, 2145 | 1,936,410 | 5.211 |
2020 OC's orbit is determined by observations dating back to July 17, 2020. It was last officially observed on Aug. 8, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 73 observations used to determine its orbit.
2020 OC can be reached with a journey of 362 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 7.425 km/s. To put this into perspective, the delta-v to launch a rocket to Low-Earth Orbit is 9.7 km/s. There are 51,306 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.
See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2020 OC.
The position of 2020 OC 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.