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Asteroid Near-Earth

2020 QU5

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(2020 QU5)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.062 AU
True anomaly
160.98°
Distance from Earth
0.899 AU
As of
15 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 QU5 — 1.062 AU from the Sun 2020 QU5
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2020 QU5 is 0.899 AU from Earth today (7.5 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
18h 05m 28s
Declination
-24° 20′ 12″
Constellation
Sagittarius
Distance from Earth
0.91 AU
Elongation from the Sun
67.95° — well clear of the Sun

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
0.723 AU
Eccentricity
0.5801
Inclination
0.77°
Orbital period
224.5 days
Perihelion
0.304 AU
Aphelion
1.142 AU
Longitude of ascending node
68.82°
Argument of periapsis
100.93°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 4.2 LD
0.0107 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
7.805

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 2).

Observations used
23
Data arc
5.12 years
First observed
20 August 2020
Last observed
4 October 2025
Residual RMS
0.76 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
5 October 2025

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
25.65

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 370 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2020 QU5 at 2028-08-25 06:39 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-08-25 06:39 UTC close approach of 2020 QU5. Catalogue miss distance 36.0 LD · 1.38 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-08-22 to 2028-08-28, 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. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 36.0 LD · 1.38 × 10⁷ km 2028-08-25 06:39 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-08-25 06:39 UTC close approach of 2020 QU5. Catalogue miss distance 36.0 LD · 1.38 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-08-22 to 2028-08-28, 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. 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
2028-08-25 06:39:00 Earth 0.0924 AU 36.0 LD 12 km/s
2030-04-01 03:55:00 Mercury 0.0917 AU 35.7 LD 37.4 km/s
2030-04-01 03:55:00 Merc 0.0917 AU 35.7 LD 37.4 km/s
2030-05-09 09:18:00 Venus 0.1499 AU 58.3 LD 28.5 km/s
2030-12-20 00:14:00 Venus 0.1476 AU 57.5 LD 28.4 km/s
2031-07-06 09:38:00 Mercury 0.0961 AU 37.4 LD 21.1 km/s
2031-07-06 09:38:00 Merc 0.0961 AU 37.4 LD 21.1 km/s
2031-08-01 15:18:00 Venus 0.1457 AU 56.7 LD 28.3 km/s
2032-03-13 06:43:00 Venus 0.1442 AU 56.1 LD 28.2 km/s
2032-10-07 11:39:00 Mercury 0.0724 AU 28.2 LD 32.6 km/s

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

Sources