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Asteroid Near-Earth

2020 KT

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(2020 KT)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.118 AU
True anomaly
182.38°
Distance from Earth
2.077 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 KT — 1.118 AU from the Sun 2020 KT
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2020 KT is 2.077 AU from Earth today (17.3 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 14m 11s
Declination
-10° 50′ 04″
Constellation
Virgo
Distance from Earth
2.08 AU
Elongation from the Sun
11.3° — 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
0.802 AU
Eccentricity
0.3938
Inclination
5.78°
Orbital period
262.5 days
Perihelion
0.486 AU
Aphelion
1.118 AU
Longitude of ascending node
171.64°
Argument of periapsis
230.58°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 9.7 LD
0.0249 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.204

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
54
Data arc
4.99 years
First observed
17 May 2020
Last observed
15 May 2025
Residual RMS
0.47 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 May 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.05

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 77 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2020 KT at 2030-03-26 22:37 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-03-26 22:37 UTC close approach of 2020 KT. Catalogue miss distance 11.1 LD · 4.27 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-03-23 to 2030-03-29, 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 24 Mar 29 Mar 11.1 LD · 4.27 × 10⁶ km 2030-03-26 22:37 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2030-03-26 22:37 UTC close approach of 2020 KT. Catalogue miss distance 11.1 LD · 4.27 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2030-03-23 to 2030-03-29, 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
2030-03-26 22:37:00 Earth 0.0286 AU 11.1 LD 9.5 km/s
2035-03-27 15:50:00 Earth 0.1478 AU 57.5 LD 14.4 km/s
2038-06-06 11:31:00 Earth 0.1677 AU 65.3 LD 13.7 km/s
2043-06-05 01:08:00 Earth 0.1021 AU 39.7 LD 9 km/s
2048-05-08 03:29:00 Earth 0.1378 AU 53.6 LD 7.8 km/s
2053-04-07 10:09:00 Earth 0.0977 AU 38.0 LD 7.9 km/s
2058-03-26 00:00:00 Earth 0.0358 AU 13.9 LD 10.6 km/s
2062-12-11 23:18:00 Venus 0.1411 AU 54.9 LD 19.6 km/s
2063-03-29 02:22:00 Earth 0.1891 AU 73.6 LD 15.7 km/s
2066-06-07 08:22:00 Earth 0.1403 AU 54.6 LD 12.6 km/s

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

Sources