Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 458,312 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2020 VN1 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2020 VN1 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 VN1 orbits the sun every 355 days (0.97 years), coming as close as 0.92 AU and reaching as far as 1.04 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2020 VN1 is probably between 0.005 to 0.020 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2020 VN1'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 VN1 has 18 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Nov. 7, 2020 458,312 3.294
July 28, 2021 16,948,695 2.765
April 25, 2022 7,399,490 2.341
March 31, 2023 20,231,841 6.497
Nov. 9, 2052 28,247,099 8.231
Nov. 5, 2053 1,248,843 3.241
Nov. 5, 2054 4,640,430 2.335
Sept. 9, 2055 13,432,775 2.128
Dec. 22, 2055 12,336,054 2.209
July 23, 2056 15,376,990 2.516
Feb. 8, 2057 13,696,903 2.065
June 11, 2057 12,846,660 2.440
April 28, 2058 6,086,117 2.286
April 17, 2059 3,245,386 3.266
April 9, 2060 15,861,693 5.676
Nov. 10, 2112 29,706,292 8.457
Nov. 6, 2113 14,668,494 5.549
Nov. 4, 2114 986,647 3.243

NASA Sentry has assessed impact risk for 2 very close approach scenarios. Here are the top scenarios ordered by probability of impact:

Date Probability of Impact (%) Impact Energy (Mt)
Nov. 3, 2115 0.17050 0.01507
July 19, 2122 0.00016 0.01507

Images and Observations

2020 VN1's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 8, 2020. It was last officially observed on March 23, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 146 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2020 VN1 can be reached with a journey of 362 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 4.084 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 1,058,533 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2020 VN1.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2020 VN1:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9804 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.0632
  • Inclination: 3.51°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 43.93°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 254.9°
  • Mean Anomaly: 74.13°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.012 km
  • Magnitude: 27.93

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 355 days (0.97 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 30.04 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.04 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.92 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2020 VN1 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.