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Asteroid Near-Earth

2020 BX15

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(2020 BX15)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.066 AU
True anomaly
198.25°
Distance from Earth
1.863 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 BX15 — 1.066 AU from the Sun 2020 BX15
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2020 BX15 is 1.863 AU from Earth today (15.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
11h 50m 47s
Declination
+01° 37′ 27″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
1.86 AU
Elongation from the Sun
26.39° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

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
0.766 AU
Eccentricity
0.4502
Inclination
24°
Orbital period
244.7 days
Perihelion
0.421 AU
Aphelion
1.11 AU
Longitude of ascending node
334.93°
Argument of periapsis
339.12°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 19.6 LD
0.0503 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.422

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
81
Data arc
6.08 years
First observed
29 January 2020
Last observed
26 February 2026
Residual RMS
0.49 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
29 July 2026

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
21.21

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 128 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2020 BX15 at 2028-02-28 21:53 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-02-28 21:53 UTC close approach of 2020 BX15. Catalogue miss distance 20.1 LD · 7.72 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-02-25 to 2028-03-02, 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 26 Feb 20.1 LD · 7.72 × 10⁶ km 2028-02-28 21:53 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-02-28 21:53 UTC close approach of 2020 BX15. Catalogue miss distance 20.1 LD · 7.72 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-02-25 to 2028-03-02, 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
2028-02-28 21:53:00 Earth 0.0516 AU 20.1 LD 15.5 km/s
2030-02-26 22:55:00 Earth 0.0601 AU 23.4 LD 14.7 km/s
2030-05-23 18:20:00 Mercury 0.076 AU 29.6 LD 23.1 km/s
2030-05-23 18:20:00 Merc 0.076 AU 29.6 LD 23.1 km/s
2032-02-25 02:43:00 Earth 0.0912 AU 35.5 LD 14.2 km/s
2034-02-21 11:08:00 Earth 0.1263 AU 49.2 LD 13.9 km/s
2036-02-18 02:59:00 Earth 0.1608 AU 62.6 LD 13.7 km/s
2036-06-05 09:22:00 Merc 0.0101 AU 3.9 LD 24.7 km/s
2036-06-05 09:22:00 Mercury 0.0101 AU 3.9 LD 24.7 km/s
2038-02-13 02:21:00 Earth 0.1935 AU 75.3 LD 13.7 km/s

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

Sources