Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2020 RV6

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2020 RV6)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.765 AU
True anomaly
91.8°
Distance from Earth
1.706 AU
As of
20 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 — 0.996 AU from the Sun Earth 2020 RV6 — 0.765 AU from the Sun 2020 RV6
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2020 RV6 is 1.706 AU from Earth today (14.2 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
14h 30m 35s
Declination
-14° 02′ 22″
Constellation
Libra
Distance from Earth
1.71 AU
Elongation from the Sun
12.48° — 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
0.87 AU
Eccentricity
0.3623
Inclination
2.08°
Orbital period
296.5 days
Perihelion
0.555 AU
Aphelion
1.185 AU
Longitude of ascending node
182.42°
Argument of periapsis
321.92°
Epoch · J2000
2459107.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 2.3 LD
0.006 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.742

Orbit quality

Orbit very uncertain — the object may be effectively lost (uncertainty code 8).

Observations used
16
Data arc
9 days
First observed
11 September 2020
Last observed
20 September 2020
Residual RMS
0.63 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
15 April 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
24.8

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 33 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2020 RV6 at 2028-07-05 06:45 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-07-05 06:45 UTC close approach of 2020 RV6. Catalogue miss distance 80.9 LD · 3.11 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-07-02 to 2028-07-08, 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 80.9 LD · 3.11 × 10⁷ km 2028-07-05 06:45 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2028-07-05 06:45 UTC close approach of 2020 RV6. Catalogue miss distance 80.9 LD · 3.11 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2028-07-02 to 2028-07-08, 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
2028-07-05 06:45:00 Earth 0.2078 AU 80.9 LD 15.8 km/s
2029-09-29 00:27:00 Earth 0.2563 AU 99.8 LD 17.5 km/s
2030-11-05 01:25:00 Venus 0.0524 AU 20.4 LD 14.9 km/s
2037-12-30 21:20:00 Earth 0.3809 AU 148.3 LD 12.7 km/s
2040-05-24 02:05:00 Venus 0.0355 AU 13.8 LD 14 km/s
2041-07-04 16:41:00 Earth 0.1828 AU 71.2 LD 15 km/s
2042-02-11 05:29:00 Earth 0.432 AU 168.1 LD 16.5 km/s
2042-09-28 05:29:00 Earth 0.2833 AU 110.3 LD 18.3 km/s
2046-03-22 08:39:00 Earth 0.408 AU 158.8 LD 14.3 km/s
2046-10-02 17:22:00 Earth 0.0574 AU 22.4 LD 8 km/s

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

Sources