Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 228,241 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2020 PX5 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2020 PX5 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 PX5 orbits the sun every 916 days (2.51 years), coming as close as 0.93 AU and reaching as far as 2.76 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2020 PX5 is probably between 0.003 to 0.007 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2020 PX5's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2020 PX5 has 7 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Aug. 11, 2020 228,241 10.286
Aug. 19, 2025 9,473,878 12.029
Aug. 29, 2030 27,137,616 15.538
May 6, 2113 20,048,331 13.852
May 17, 2118 7,479,902 10.716
Aug. 6, 2143 5,876,554 9.121
Aug. 9, 2148 3,168,833 9.516

NASA Sentry has assessed impact risk for 12 very close approach scenarios. Here are the top scenarios ordered by probability of impact:

Date Probability of Impact (%) Impact Energy (Mt)
Aug. 13, 2118 0.00119 0.00251
Aug. 13, 2118 0.00024 0.002532
Aug. 13, 2113 0.00018 0.002516
Aug. 12, 2098 0.00014 0.002515
Aug. 13, 2113 0.00005 0.002517
Aug. 12, 2086 0.00000 0.002518
Aug. 13, 2118 0.00000 0.002509
Aug. 12, 2084 0.00000 0.00253
Aug. 12, 2091 0.00000 0.002518
Aug. 12, 2096 0.00000 0.002535
Aug. 14, 2111 0.00000 0.002525
Aug. 13, 2110 0.00000 0.002505

Images and Observations

2020 PX5's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Aug. 12, 2020. It was last officially observed on Aug. 18, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 16 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 PX5:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.845 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.495
  • Inclination: 2.45°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 140.51°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 137.16°
  • Mean Anomaly: 96.27°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.004 km
  • Magnitude: 29.56

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 916 days (2.51 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 21.91 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.76 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.93 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2020 PX5 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.