2020 YN3

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2020 YN3

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 17,006,401 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2020 YN3 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2020 YN3 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 YN3 orbits the sun every 354 days (0.97 years), coming as close as 0.67 AU and reaching as far as 1.29 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2020 YN3 is probably between 0.037 to 0.164 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2020 YN3'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 YN3 has 27 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 21, 2019 17,006,401 13.329
Dec. 17, 2020 12,404,761 7.736
April 30, 2026 22,733,573 6.170
May 2, 2027 11,157,170 11.295
Dec. 22, 2050 21,439,607 14.291
Dec. 17, 2051 8,333,505 8.519
April 27, 2057 24,594,057 6.118
May 2, 2058 10,131,666 10.940
Dec. 21, 2081 17,727,563 13.503
Dec. 17, 2082 11,954,414 7.813
May 2, 2088 21,000,169 6.376
May 1, 2089 13,233,505 11.920
Dec. 22, 2110 17,720,908 13.488
Dec. 21, 2111 15,170,529 7.223
April 19, 2116 28,395,430 6.310
May 3, 2117 9,422,936 10.623
Dec. 19, 2138 3,262,839 9.942
Jan. 8, 2140 29,286,612 6.934
May 5, 2144 16,836,035 7.129
April 30, 2145 18,533,217 13.175
Dec. 25, 2165 29,250,951 15.881
Dec. 19, 2166 4,896,283 9.224
May 4, 2172 8,879,137 9.514
Dec. 24, 2192 26,544,576 15.324
Dec. 19, 2193 7,790,760 8.568
April 17, 2198 29,595,656 6.418
May 4, 2199 9,272,453 10.561

Images and Observations

2020 YN3's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 22, 2020. It was last officially observed on Feb. 17, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 113 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2020 YN3 can be reached with a journey of 450 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 10.525 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 1,527 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2020 YN3.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2020 YN3:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9793 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3176
  • Inclination: 3.69°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 287.55°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 47.58°
  • Mean Anomaly: 15.47°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.101 km
  • Magnitude: 23.38

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 354 days (0.97 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 30.10 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.29 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.67 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2020 YN3 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 YN3 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.