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Asteroid Near-Earth

2008 GL20

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(2008 GL20)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.954 AU
True anomaly
120.2°
Distance from Earth
1.893 AU
As of
20 October 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

Sun Earth — 0.996 AU from the Sun Earth 2008 GL20 — 0.954 AU from the Sun 2008 GL20
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2008 GL20 is 1.893 AU from Earth today (15.7 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
12h 51m 23s
Declination
-06° 41′ 38″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.9 AU
Elongation from the Sun
13.56° — too close to the Sun to observe

Visible from both hemispheres.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it is up after civil twilight, and when it rises and sets where you are.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.

Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
0.894 AU
Eccentricity
0.2026
Inclination
6.88°
Orbital period
308.7 days
Perihelion
0.713 AU
Aphelion
1.075 AU
Longitude of ascending node
198.64°
Argument of periapsis
220.78°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 2.8 LD
0.0073 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.627

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
30
Data arc
6 days
First observed
9 April 2008
Last observed
15 April 2008
Residual RMS
0.66 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
26.6

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 99 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2008 GL20 at 2030-01-30 15:28 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-01-30 15:28 UTC close approach of 2008 GL20. Catalogue miss distance 86.7 LD · 3.33 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-01-27 to 2030-02-02, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. At closest approach the object is south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 86.7 LD · 3.33 × 10⁷ km 2030-01-30 15:28 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-01-30 15:28 UTC close approach of 2008 GL20. Catalogue miss distance 86.7 LD · 3.33 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-01-27 to 2030-02-02, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. At closest approach the object is south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2029-12-17 05:32:00 Venus 0.1011 AU 39.3 LD 7.9 km/s
2030-01-30 15:28:00 Earth 0.2227 AU 86.7 LD 4.3 km/s
2030-06-04 06:24:00 Earth 0.1162 AU 45.2 LD 4.6 km/s
2035-04-07 06:11:00 Earth 0.2295 AU 89.3 LD 12.2 km/s
2035-10-29 06:24:00 Earth 0.272 AU 105.8 LD 9 km/s
2036-06-20 16:07:00 Earth 0.459 AU 178.6 LD 18.3 km/s
2036-09-16 12:45:00 Venus 0.0762 AU 29.7 LD 7.2 km/s
2041-01-18 23:30:00 Earth 0.239 AU 93.0 LD 5.4 km/s
2041-06-21 00:42:00 Earth 0.1192 AU 46.4 LD 4.7 km/s
2043-06-26 11:54:00 Venus 0.0848 AU 33.0 LD 7.4 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources