Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 659,888 km of Earth in 2022
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2022 SW20 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2022 SW20 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.

2022 SW20 orbits the sun every 210 days (0.57 years), coming as close as 0.30 AU and reaching as far as 1.08 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2022 SW20 is probably between 0.013 to 0.030 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2022 SW20'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.

2022 SW20 has 15 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 23, 2022 659,888 14.446
Sept. 22, 2026 19,184,435 18.330
Oct. 25, 2033 23,821,267 13.382
Oct. 10, 2037 19,474,987 12.547
Sept. 26, 2041 8,906,238 13.201
Sept. 21, 2045 8,119,358 16.020
Sept. 23, 2049 29,251,269 20.566
Oct. 30, 2052 26,690,782 14.727
Oct. 18, 2056 21,966,904 12.704
Oct. 2, 2060 14,756,243 12.672
Sept. 22, 2064 345,657 14.616
Oct. 6, 2086 17,736,263 12.547
Sept. 25, 2131 24,605,755 19.517
Oct. 30, 2134 26,261,888 14.066
Sept. 25, 2183 26,186,625 19.885

Images and Observations

2022 SW20's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 27, 2022. It was last officially observed on Sept. 30, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 14 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 2022 SW20:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.6918 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5679
  • Inclination: 15.19°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 0.28°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 199.5°
  • Mean Anomaly: 11.6°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.017 km
  • Magnitude: 26.48

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 210 days (0.57 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 35.84 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.08 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.30 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2022 SW20 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.