2020 TU5

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2020 TU5

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 29,906,380 km of Earth in 2040
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2020 TU5 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2020 TU5 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2020 TU5 orbits the sun every 732 days (2.00 years), coming as close as 1.01 AU and reaching as far as 2.17 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2020 TU5 is probably between 0.227 to 0.508 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2020 TU5's orbit is 0.03 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 TU5 has 16 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 28, 2040 29,906,380 30.851
Oct. 29, 2042 27,521,488 30.818
Oct. 29, 2044 25,967,922 30.801
Oct. 30, 2046 24,466,754 30.802
Oct. 29, 2048 23,105,400 30.786
Oct. 30, 2050 22,275,194 30.769
Oct. 30, 2052 21,729,197 30.782
Oct. 31, 2054 21,094,233 30.780
Oct. 30, 2056 21,297,012 30.773
Oct. 30, 2058 21,513,705 30.777
Oct. 30, 2060 21,955,956 30.781
Oct. 30, 2062 23,006,342 30.782
Oct. 29, 2064 24,272,884 30.792
Oct. 29, 2066 25,432,760 30.794
Oct. 28, 2068 27,386,698 30.818
Oct. 28, 2070 29,311,449 30.846

Images and Observations

2020 TU5's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 2, 2014. It was last officially observed on Oct. 14, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 43 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 TU5:

References

Search

   or view a random object

Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.59 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3629
  • Inclination: 56.84°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 42.48°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 345.1°
  • Mean Anomaly: 171.31°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.293 km
  • Magnitude: 20.34

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 732 days (2.00 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.63 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.17 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.01 AU

Map Comparison

Click to load map

Orbit Simulation

⧉

Sky Map

The position of 2020 TU5 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 TU5 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.