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Asteroid Near-Earth

2020 VB

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(2020 VB)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.928 AU
True anomaly
98.5°
Distance from Earth
1.435 AU
As of
21 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 VB — 0.928 AU from the Sun 2020 VB
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2020 VB is 1.435 AU from Earth today (11.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
16h 28m 40s
Declination
-04° 55′ 32″
Constellation
Ophiuchus
Distance from Earth
1.44 AU
Elongation from the Sun
40.1° — 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
0.932 AU
Eccentricity
0.1735
Inclination
27.99°
Orbital period
328.6 days
Perihelion
0.77 AU
Aphelion
1.094 AU
Longitude of ascending node
224.11°
Argument of periapsis
330.95°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · ATE
Aten
Earth MOID · 28.2 LD
0.0724 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
6.319

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 6).

Observations used
134
Data arc
32 days
First observed
3 November 2020
Last observed
5 December 2020
Residual RMS
0.35 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
29 June 2021

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
23.1

Discovery & classification

Aten Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 99 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2020 VB at 2029-05-16 14:51 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-05-16 14:51 UTC close approach of 2020 VB. Catalogue miss distance 90.7 LD · 3.49 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-05-13 to 2029-05-19, 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 approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. approximate Sun 90.7 LD · 3.49 × 10⁷ km 2029-05-16 14:51 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2029-05-16 14:51 UTC close approach of 2020 VB. Catalogue miss distance 90.7 LD · 3.49 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2029-05-13 to 2029-05-19, 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 approximate: a two-body Kepler propagation of the catalogue orbital elements, not a numerical integration. The Moon’s position is approximate. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2029-05-16 14:51:00 Earth 0.2331 AU 90.7 LD 17.3 km/s
2029-11-07 10:00:00 Earth 0.0847 AU 33.0 LD 14.2 km/s
2030-03-09 09:08:00 Earth 0.4436 AU 172.6 LD 16 km/s
2032-01-24 09:41:00 Venus 0.072 AU 28.0 LD 19 km/s
2038-05-15 22:24:00 Earth 0.2306 AU 89.7 LD 17.3 km/s
2038-11-07 20:28:00 Earth 0.0804 AU 31.3 LD 14.2 km/s
2043-10-03 21:26:00 Venus 0.0744 AU 29.0 LD 19.4 km/s
2047-05-16 03:41:00 Earth 0.2305 AU 89.7 LD 17.3 km/s
2047-11-08 03:20:00 Earth 0.0809 AU 31.5 LD 14.2 km/s
2055-06-14 00:42:00 Venus 0.148 AU 57.6 LD 20.7 km/s

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

Sources