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Asteroid Near-Earth

2020 PK

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(2020 PK)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.714 AU
True anomaly
249.65°
Distance from Earth
0.668 AU
As of
22 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 — 0.995 AU from the Sun Earth 2020 PK — 0.714 AU from the Sun 2020 PK
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2020 PK is 0.668 AU from Earth today (5.6 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
10h 54m 20s
Declination
-31° 45′ 36″
Constellation
Hydra
Distance from Earth
0.67 AU
Elongation from the Sun
45.34° — near the Sun — look low at dusk or dawn

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

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
0.949 AU
Eccentricity
0.6455
Inclination
33.22°
Orbital period
337.5 days
Perihelion
0.336 AU
Aphelion
1.561 AU
Longitude of ascending node
150.92°
Argument of periapsis
17.03°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 92.7 LD
0.2383 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.031

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 1).

Observations used
61
Data arc
5.22 years
First observed
30 July 2020
Last observed
17 October 2025
Residual RMS
0.58 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
17 October 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
21.58

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 56 on record

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2029-12-19 23:28:00 Mars 0.0781 AU 30.4 LD 18.2 km/s
2032-06-06 23:55:00 Merc 0.0576 AU 22.4 LD 43.3 km/s
2032-06-06 23:55:00 Mercury 0.0576 AU 22.4 LD 43.3 km/s
2037-12-22 21:08:00 Merc 0.0242 AU 9.4 LD 40.6 km/s
2037-12-22 21:08:00 Mercury 0.0242 AU 9.4 LD 40.6 km/s
2043-07-10 00:38:00 Merc 0.0452 AU 17.6 LD 39 km/s
2043-07-10 00:38:00 Mercury 0.0452 AU 17.6 LD 39 km/s
2049-01-24 05:59:00 Merc 0.0826 AU 32.1 LD 38.4 km/s
2049-01-24 05:59:00 Mercury 0.0826 AU 32.1 LD 38.4 km/s
2082-08-19 11:53:00 Mars 0.0752 AU 29.3 LD 18.1 km/s

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

Sources