2020 UA is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2020 UA 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 UA orbits the sun every 291 days (0.80 years), coming as close as 0.62 AU and reaching as far as 1.09 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2020 UA is probably between 0.004 to 0.016 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.
The rotation of 2020 UA has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 0.04 hours.
2020 UA's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is very close to Earth's orbit.
2020 UA has 8 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:
| Date | Distance from Earth (km) | Velocity (km/s) |
|---|---|---|
| Sept. 18, 2019 | 23,157,912 | 4.878 |
| Dec. 9, 2019 | 26,169,302 | 5.008 |
| Oct. 21, 2020 | 44,499 | 7.837 |
| Oct. 22, 2024 | 16,844,709 | 10.108 |
| July 30, 2039 | 11,646,501 | 8.665 |
| Aug. 31, 2043 | 12,302,597 | 5.246 |
| Oct. 21, 2047 | 778,916 | 6.731 |
| Aug. 21, 2147 | 8,464,297 | 5.250 |
NASA Sentry has assessed impact risk for 15 very close approach scenarios. Here are the top scenarios ordered by probability of impact:
| Date | Probability of Impact (%) | Impact Energy (Mt) |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 19, 2076 | 0.00004 | 0.009575 |
| July 22, 2074 | 0.00004 | 0.00958 |
| Oct. 21, 2114 | 0.00003 | 0.009599 |
| Oct. 20, 2076 | 0.00002 | 0.009541 |
| Oct. 19, 2078 | 0.00002 | 0.009505 |
| Oct. 20, 2076 | 0.00001 | 0.009566 |
| Oct. 19, 2104 | 0.00001 | 0.009554 |
| Oct. 20, 2078 | 0.00000 | 0.009568 |
| Aug. 8, 2108 | 0.00000 | 0.00964 |
| Oct. 18, 2092 | 0.00000 | 0.009485 |
| Oct. 20, 2110 | 0.00000 | 0.009536 |
| Oct. 20, 2081 | 0.00000 | 0.009613 |
| Oct. 21, 2109 | 0.00000 | 0.009558 |
| Oct. 22, 2105 | 0.00000 | 0.009556 |
| Aug. 7, 2084 | 0.00000 | 0.009636 |
2020 UA's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 16, 2020. It was last officially observed on Oct. 20, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 68 observations used to determine its orbit.
2020 UA can be reached with a journey of 370 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 8.993 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 53,280 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.
See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2020 UA.
The position of 2020 UA 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.