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Asteroid Near-Earth

2020 BK1

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(2020 BK1)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.079 AU
True anomaly
153.8°
Distance from Earth
1.141 AU
As of
16 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 — 0.997 AU from the Sun Earth 2020 BK1 — 1.079 AU from the Sun 2020 BK1
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2020 BK1 is 1.141 AU from Earth today (9.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
09h 32m 24s
Declination
+04° 54′ 06″
Constellation
Hydra
Distance from Earth
1.14 AU
Elongation from the Sun
60.36° — well clear of the Sun

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
0.781 AU
Eccentricity
0.568
Inclination
21.08°
Orbital period
252.2 days
Perihelion
0.337 AU
Aphelion
1.225 AU
Longitude of ascending node
116.08°
Argument of periapsis
178.08°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 69.5 LD
0.1786 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.256

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 2).

Observations used
42
Data arc
739 days
First observed
28 December 2019
Last observed
5 January 2022
Residual RMS
0.34 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
9 January 2022

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
22.9

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 211 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2020 BK1 at 2027-02-09 18:03 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-02-09 18:03 UTC close approach of 2020 BK1. Catalogue miss distance 99.2 LD · 3.81 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-02-06 to 2027-02-12, 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 north of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 99.2 LD · 3.81 × 10⁷ km 2027-02-09 18:03 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2027-02-09 18:03 UTC close approach of 2020 BK1. Catalogue miss distance 99.2 LD · 3.81 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2027-02-06 to 2027-02-12, 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 north 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
2027-02-09 18:03:00 Earth 0.255 AU 99.2 LD 22.1 km/s
2027-04-17 07:17:00 Mercury 0.066 AU 25.7 LD 36.9 km/s
2027-04-17 07:17:00 Merc 0.066 AU 25.7 LD 36.9 km/s
2029-01-30 12:56:00 Earth 0.2099 AU 81.7 LD 15.3 km/s
2031-01-03 16:36:00 Earth 0.2313 AU 90.0 LD 15.2 km/s
2032-12-18 22:27:00 Earth 0.2399 AU 93.4 LD 20.4 km/s
2036-02-06 05:55:00 Earth 0.3634 AU 141.4 LD 26.7 km/s
2037-08-24 13:52:00 Merc 0.0593 AU 23.1 LD 35.9 km/s
2037-08-24 13:52:00 Mercury 0.0593 AU 23.1 LD 35.9 km/s
2038-02-07 14:52:00 Earth 0.1815 AU 70.6 LD 16.3 km/s

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

Sources