2020 OT6

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2020 OT6

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 25,426,796 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2020 OT6 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2020 OT6 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2020 OT6 orbits the sun every 334 days (0.91 years), coming as close as 0.59 AU and reaching as far as 1.30 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2020 OT6 is probably between 0.254 to 0.568 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2020 OT6's orbit is 0.02 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 OT6 has 13 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
July 23, 2020 25,426,796 12.543
July 29, 2041 11,143,922 17.227
July 25, 2052 7,506,359 14.602
July 24, 2063 26,009,333 12.491
Aug. 2, 2073 28,048,335 20.082
July 27, 2084 5,955,128 16.360
July 26, 2095 8,124,740 14.512
July 25, 2106 23,740,053 12.686
July 31, 2127 11,587,194 17.289
July 28, 2138 3,047,984 15.416
July 25, 2149 22,473,737 12.800
July 30, 2170 11,336,606 17.253
July 27, 2181 6,701,858 14.732

Images and Observations

2020 OT6's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 15, 2010. It was last officially observed on Oct. 18, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 66 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 OT6:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9425 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.378
  • Inclination: 22.27°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 121.94°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 60.83°
  • Mean Anomaly: 241.73°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.328 km
  • Magnitude: 20.1

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 334 days (0.91 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 30.70 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.30 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.59 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2020 OT6 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 OT6 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.